The law’s revision was spearheaded by a coalition of Ethiopians representing the medical, political, and women’s rights communities. These groups joined forces to produce timely data and present evidence to decision makers on the health and social consequences of unsafe abortion by outlining ways to reduce maternal mortality and fulfill the rights outlined in the country’s constitution, particularly Article 35 [6, 7]. Strong government support for global human rights conventions, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women [8] and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, also known as the Maputo Protocol [9], provided a further foundation to the penal code revisions.