Proposal to allow 15 year olds Access to family planning sparks heated debate in Parliament

A proposal to lower the legal age for accessing healthcare services, including family planning, from 18 to 15 years, sparked intense debate in Rwanda’s Parliament on Friday, May 2, 2025.

During a consultation with civil society organizations held by the Parliamentary Committee on Social Affairs, several youth rights activists advocated for allowing adolescents aged 15 and above to access reproductive health services. They argued that denying these services puts young girls at serious risk of unintended pregnancies and health complications.

Aflodis Kagaba, Executive Director of the Health Development Initiative (HDI), highlighted the urgency of legal reform, pointing out that some girls become pregnant as early as age 10.

“Every year, around 25,000 teenage girls in Rwanda become pregnant. Some are as young as 10. Any girl who has started menstruating can conceive,” he stated. Kagaba emphasized that granting access to family planning for girls aged 15 and up could prevent many adverse outcomes.

He also noted that while many adolescents are sexually active, only a small fraction become pregnant, suggesting a large number lack access to contraception — leaving them vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies.

Aimable Mwananawe, Director of IMRO Rwanda, stressed that providing contraceptive options does not encourage sexual activity, but rather protects adolescents’ health and future.

“We’re not encouraging children to engage in sex,” he said. “We’re asking to protect those who already are. Denying them condoms when they are already having children is not a solution — it only deepens the problem.”

He added that teenage pregnancies burden families and the country, with many affected girls being rejected by their families, pushed into domestic work in cities, and falling into cycles of poverty and exploitation.

Xavérine Uwimana, representing the Réseau des Femmes Oeuvrant pour le Développement Rural, said offering reproductive health services to 15-year-olds is about protecting their rights and preventing long-term social and economic harm.

“This isn’t about taking responsibilities away from parents,” she said. “But we must think of the child whose life is in danger. Some girls don’t choose to be in these situations some are coerced.”

Despite this support from rights groups, the proposal met resistance from some members of Parliament.

MP Christine Mukabunani argued that the move could be interpreted as endorsing teenage sexual activity, which conflicts with Rwandan cultural values.

“We shouldn’t tell children, ‘Here’s birth control — go ahead and have sex without fear of pregnancy,’” she said. “We would be failing them as parents.”

However, MP Veneranda Uwamariya noted that the Ministry of Health itself has requested the legal age for accessing medical services be reduced, citing the alarming rise in teen pregnancies.

According to Ministry of Health data, between June 2023 and July 2024, over 8,000 pregnant girls under the age of 18 received maternity care accounting for 2% of all pregnant women in Rwanda during that period. Additionally, one-third of legal abortion cases involved minors.

A 2023 study by the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) revealed that 51% of Rwandan children had engaged in sexual activity before the age of 12 a figure that shocked both experts and policymakers.

Activists are urging the government not to treat teenage pregnancies as a normal issue, but to take decisive action. They are calling for safe, culturally respectful access to basic reproductive health services for youth starting at age 15.