“Protect the right to life”: Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Make Urgent Appeal to Senate ahead of Abortion Bill Debate

Harare, 05 February, 2026 / 11:40 PM

Catholic Bishops in Zimbabwe have appealed to Senators in the southern African country to protect the right to life of unborn children ahead of a debate that could expand access to abortion in the country.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, February 4, ahead of the February 10 anticipated Senate debate on the proposed legislation, members of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference (ZCBC) urge the lawmakers to reject the bill and exercise their solemn duty to protect prenatal life through enacting laws that favor childbirth over abortion. 

On their part, ZCBC members express their readiness to work with the lawmakers in developing supportive legislation that offers morally acceptable alternatives to abortion. 

"We ask that you uphold your constitutional responsibility to protect the right to life of unborn children to the maximum degree possible,” the Catholic Church leaders say, noting that the country has reached “a moment that calls for a serious re-examination” of its moral compass.

They call upon Zimbabwean Senators to cast their vote against the proposed pro-abortion laws already passed by the National Assembly and to, through the exercise of their conscience, ensure that “state laws and administrative policies do not facilitate or normalize abortion.”

In their appeal to legislators, ZCCB members express willingness to work with the lawmakers in developing supportive laws that provide for “morally acceptable alternatives to abortion, including robust prenatal care, counseling, and sustained support for vulnerable women and children.”

They urge all Christians and people of good will also to take a firm stand against the proposed Bill, noting that the Bill “strikes at the heart of the African and Christian moral heritage.”

“Those who revere human life as a gift from God, who created us in His image and likeness, have compelling reasons to oppose the legalization of the elimination of unborn children,” ZCBC members say in their joint statement titled "An Appeal to Conscience: Defending Innocent Lives.”

They warn that the proposed legislation seeks "to make abortion readily available, including without the knowledge or consent of parents or guardians in the case of minors, and even without spousal involvement."

“This represents a grave trivialization of an act that entails the deliberate ending of a human life solely because that life is incapable of defending itself,” the Catholic Church leaders say, noting that the shift is a departure from established legal safeguards and it undermines the dignity of the family.

They caution that, if allowed to sail through, the laws permitting what they describe as the deliberate termination of unborn life would undermine the country’s recent progress in affirming the value of human life.

They call upon all Christians to commit themselves to prayer for the protection of human life from the moment of conception.

“As we give thanks for the repeal of the death penalty in Zimbabwe, let us also pray that children still hidden in the womb will not suffer the same fate simply because their faces are unseen and their voices unheard,” the Catholic Church leaders appeal in their February 4 statement.