Abortion Laws in Solomon Islands

SOLOMON ISLANDS. Penal Code.

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Attempts to procure abortion

157. Any person who. with intent to procure the miscarriage of a woman. whether she is or is not with child. unlawfully administers to her or causes her to take any poison or other noxious thing. or uses any force of any kind, or uses any other means whatever, shall be guilty of a felony, and shall be liable to imprisonment for life.

The like by woman with child

158. Any woman who, being with child, with intent to procure her own miscarriage, unlawfully administers to herself any child poison or other noxious thing, or uses any force of any kind, or uses any other means whatever, or permits any such thing, or means to be administered or used to her, shall be guilty of a felony, and shall be liable to imprisonment for life.

Supplying drugs or instruments to procure abortion

159. Any person who unlawfully supplies to or procures for any person anything whatever, knowing that it is intended to be unlawfully used with intent to procure the miscarriage of a woman, whether she is or is not with child, is guilty of a felony, and shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.

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Killing an unborn child

221.- (1) Any person who, with intent to destroy the life of a unborn child capable of being born alive, by any wilful act causes a child to die before it has an existence independent of its mother, is guilty of felony known as child destruction, and shall be liable to imprisonment for life:

Provided that no person shall be found guilty of an offence under this section unless it is proved that the act which caused the death of the child was not done in good faith for the purpose of preserving the life of the mother.

(2) For the purposes of this section, evidence that a woman had at any material time been pregnant for a period of twenty eight weeks or more shall be prima facie proof that she was at that time pregnant of a child capable of being born alive.

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Surgical operation

234. A person is not criminally responsible for performing in good faith and with reasonable care and skill a surgical operation upon any person for his benefit, or upon an unborn child for the preservation of the mother’s life, if the performance of the operation is reasonable, having regard to the patient’s state at the time and to all the circumstances of the case.