In the Theravāda Buddhist countries of Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), and Thailand, abortion is generally regarded as a violation of the first precept — the prohibition against killing a living being. However, the way these ethical views are expressed in public life and legal systems differs, shaped by local culture, politics, and social pressures.
Sri Lanka maintains one of the most restrictive abortion laws among Buddhist countries. It is legal only if the mother’s life is at risk. Objections to abortion are common and often strongly voiced. For example, the Sarvodaya Shramadāna movement, rooted in Buddhist-inspired rural development, is radically opposed to abortion. Nonetheless, discussions have emerged around liberalizing the law to include threats to the woman’s physical and mental health, though legal changes have not been implemented .
In Burma (Myanmar), traditional Buddhist influence is evident in social norms, yet surprisingly, there is no clear traditional legal ruling on abortion. Anthropologists Jane and Manning Nash observed that children are rarely born out of wedlock because pregnancy typically leads either to marriage or to abortion. One noted method involved midwives pressing the fetus until it died — a practice sometimes seen as preferable to forcing young people into marriage, which is perceived as a loss of autonomy for both parties. This suggests that abortion, though morally problematic, has long been used as a pragmatic response to difficult social situations .
In Thailand, the stance is somewhat more flexible. While abortion is widely considered immoral, especially among monastics, Thai society tends to tolerate it under certain conditions. If an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, the family may either accept the child or arrange marriage to the father. Polls conducted in the 1970s and 1980s show that while monks largely viewed abortion as immoral, a significant percentage still supported legal reform to allow it on medical or socio-economic grounds. For example, in a 1981 poll, 75% of monks viewed a proposed reform as immoral, yet 40% thought the bill should still pass .
In practice, Thai women who undergo abortion often feel remorse and perform acts to generate merit for the unborn child, such as feeding monks, releasing birds, or donating to temples. These practices aim to ease psychological pain and karmic burden. However, unlike Japan, Thailand avoids creating specialized rituals for post-abortion healing, to prevent such acts from being misinterpreted as socially endorsed or routine .
Overall, the lands of Southern Buddhism reflect a pattern of moral conservatism tempered by practical compassion. While classical Buddhist ethics strongly oppose abortion, cultural responses allow for nuanced views, especially where women’s welfare or social pressure plays a decisive role.