drugs that are important for therapeutic abortion, encouraging illegal marketing of these drugs. Discrimination and livelihood issues of widows in the Northern Province who are not encouraged to remarry, and forced and early marriage of girls as a response to adolescent sex, have led to new problems of unwanted pregnancies in situations of marital and non-marital cohabitation. Yet the strict abortion laws encourage illegal instead of therapeutic abortions. (See Annex). The law on termination of pregnancy continues to be rooted in 19th century colonial legal values that are incorporated in the Penal Code in several sections. Abortion is a criminal offence whether committed on or by an unmarried woman or a married woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy. (S. 303 S. 305). In both cases the Penal Code incorporates the English Common law exception of legality when termination is caused in good faith to “save the life of the mother.” (S. 303 S. 305). An explanation to S. 303 clarifies that a woman who causes herself to miscarry is within the definition of this offence. This means she too commits a criminal offence in terminating her pregnancy. The exception to culpability referred to above, requires proof that termination was necessary to save the life of the mother, not the foetus. However a medical practitioner who terminates pregnancy even in these circumstances exposes himself / herself to a prosecution where he/she will have to prove this defence. These factors provide disincentives to legal therapeutic abortions, and encourage illegal back street abortions. (See Annex) S. 304 of the Penal Code also makes termination of pregnancy a criminal offence, when it is done without the consent of the woman. Coercing a woman to terminate a pregnancy will come within this offence, as well as the separate offence of criminal intimidation (S. 483) referred to earlier. Another offence specifically referred to in the Penal Code relates to causing death of a pregnant woman in the course of acting with intent to cause a miscarriage. This section does not incorporate the exception of good faith and saving the mother’s life. The judicial interpretation of this offence indicates that the accused would have to plead general defences under the Penal Code to avoid liability, if death occurs in the course of a miscarriage. (See Annex). Infanticide S. 306 makes it an offence to do an act before the birth of a child with intent to cause its death after birth. In this case too the Exception of good faith for the purpose of saving the life of the mother applies. S. 307 creates an offence of causing the death of a “quick unborn child” by an act amounting to culpable homicide. This refers to causing death after the stage of foetal movements, and in situations where the woman does not die, but the child dies. (Illustration to S. 307). S. 308 creates an offence of exposure and abandonment of a child under 12 years by a parent of the child who has the care of the child. The intention to abandon the child by leaving it in some place (exposure) is essential to prove the offence. If the child dies there can be a charge of murder or culpable homicide not amounting to murder. S. 309 deals with the offence of intentional concealment of a child’s birth by secretly disposing of the dead body. Trafficking and Pregnancy A new definition of trafficking introduced into the Penal Code in 2006 repealed the earlier law on trafficking in the Penal Code amendment of 1995. The 2006 amendment redefines the offence of trafficking in S. 360 C in line with international standards in the Palermo Protocol to the UN Convention on TransnationalOrganised Crime. This amendment also introduces new offences relating to trafficking COMPENDIUM ON LAW, GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS 25