According to the new <link http: www.primature.gov.rw media-publication publication internal link in new>Law Nº68/2018 of 30/08/2018 determining offences and penalties in general, in its article 123, provides that is someone is convicted of child defilement, he/she is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than twenty (20) years and not more than twenty-five (25) years. The article also reads that if child defilement is committed on a child under fourteen (14) years, the penalty is life imprisonment that cannot be mitigated by any circumstances. If child defilement committed on a child of fourteen (14) years of age or older has resulted into an incurable illness or disability, the penalty is life imprisonment. If child defilement is followed by cohabitation as husband and wife, the penalty is life imprisonment that cannot be mitigated by any circumstances. If child defilement is committed between children aged at least fourteen (14) years without violence or threats, no penalty is pronounced. Abortion procedures eased The new Law Nº68/2018 of 30/08/2018 determining offences and penalties in general in its article 125 on Exemption from criminal liability for abortion, states specifics cases when a child defilement victim can be facilitated to abort. The law which was gazetted on 27th September, 2018, stipulates that there should be no criminal liability if abortion was performed to a pregnant child; someone who got pregnant after experiencing rape; being subjected to a forced marriage; having incest up to the second degree or if the pregnancy puts at risk the health of the pregnant person or of the fetus.  The article states that abortion is performed by a recognized medical doctor and Conditions to be satisfied for a medical doctor to perform an abortion are determined by an Order of the Minister in charge of health. However, if after abortion, it is evident that the person on whom abortion was performed applied for it with no legal basis, such a person is punished as a person who performed a self-induced abortion. This is regarded by many as a process of easing abortion procedures since the amended law stated that if someone wants to abort, it should be done only if the person was subjected to a forced marriage; having incest up to the second degree and this was supposed to be proved by a certificate from competent court. Observers say that these procedures were a challenge to those who request for abortion as they took too long until the person who requests for abortion has exceeded the conception’s period where abortion is possible. On the other hand, article 126 of the new law, concerning procedure by which an application for a child to abort is made provides that if a person wishing to abort is a child, the application to do so is made by persons with parental authority over her after agreeing upon it. It adds that if persons with parental authority over a child disagree among themselves or if they disagree with the child, the wish of the child prevails. A person requesting abortion for the child over whom he/she has parental authority, files a request with a recognized medical doctor, accompanied with the child’s birth certificate containing the date of birth.