In Zimbabwe, the Catholic bishops’ conference has issued a call to action, urging all citizens to actively campaign against the Medical Services Amendment Bill, a proposal that would dramatically expand abortion access across the country.

The proposed legislation seeks to end the 1977 Termination of Pregnancy Act (TOPA) which allowed for abortion under very restrictive circumstances, such as when the mother’s life is at risk.

The revised Bill proposes expanding the grounds for legal abortion, allowing abortion on request at up to 12 weeks, and up to 20 weeks in cases where the pregnancy poses a risk to the woman’s health, mental well-being, or socio-economic stability.

It will also simplify access to abortion services by reducing bureaucracy and giving medical practitioners and patients the ability to make the decision, instead of requiring a magistrate’s approval through a judicial process. In addition, trained midwives will be allowed to provide abortion services, especially in rural areas. And finally, the proposed legislation emphasizes that informed consent will be the sole requirement for getting an abortion, even for pregnant minors.

In a pastoral statement read at all Masses, the bishops warned that the legislation threatens the sanctity of human life and represents a dangerous shift in national values.

“As the Church, we are totally against abortion, and we would like to appeal to all people of faith and all those who value life to pray and speak against this evil,” the bishops said in a statement.

Invoking the Christian imperative to “choose life,” thebishops described abortion as an “evil” that would sanction the “massacre of the innocent.”

“How sad it is that the whole world celebrated with us last year as the country abolished the death penalty, and today it watches as we take a back step and sanction the massacre of the innocent,” the bishops said.

They said history will judge today’s generation if it fails f to “defend the weaker members of our society.”

“As the Church, we uphold the sanctity of life from conception to a natural death. A value that is also mirrored in our Zimbabwean cultures that nurture life,” the statement adds.

The bishops decried the legislation as a form of “worship at the altar of human sacrifice” and called on senators to examine their consciences before casting their votes.

They warned senators against allowing political correctness, financial interests, or the desire for relevance to override the defense of human life.

“Is it money, political correctness, or seeking relevance that sees you choose to worship at the altar of human sacrifice? As Moses commanded the Israelites, we urge you to choose life,” the Catholic bishops said.

Human Life International (HLI), the world’s largest pro-life global Catholic ministry that works to lower abortion rates across several African countries, has suggested that the pressures might be coming from powerful nations, particularly the United States, intent on reducing Africa’s population.

Thomas Ciesielka, Public Relations Officer for the American-based organization has linked abortion as a strategy for population control to the Kissinger Report, which was a 1974 U.S. National Security Council study finding that rapid global population growth threatened American security and interests, prompting a policy to promote population control in developing nations.

In comments to Crux, Ciesielka said the report explicitly states that the U.S. economy’s need for minerals from less developed countries gives the U.S. a vested interest in their stability.

He asserted that the Kissinger Report directly links population control through reduced birth rates to creating that stability, thereby making it relevant to U.S. economic interests. He further claimed the document strongly recommends measures such as legalizing abortion, providing financial incentives for sterilization and contraception, indoctrinating children, and using coercion, including withholding disaster and food aid, to implement population control programs.

“[The Kissinger Report] is still the official population control policy of the United States government,” he told Crux.

Authorities in Zimbabwe have framed the abortion debate as a way of saving women’s lives, arguing that restrictive abortion laws don’t stop abortions, they only push them underground.

Official data indicates that unsafe abortion remains the third leading cause of death in Zimbabwe, with as many as 70,000 cases every year.

But Church leaders insist that the proposed change to the law is unjust.

“Our prayer is that sanity will prevail, and many innocent lives will be spared,” the bishops said.

In an earlier pastoral letter dated November 29, 2025, the Church leaders said the proposed law was causing “significant distress” among Christians and parents, saying the revised bill undermines fundamental values. They argued that the proposals violate a national consensus to protect unborn life, a consensus established during the nation’s constitutional consultation.