adminThe Rhodesia Herald
30 September 1972
The Roman Catholic Church is reported to be worried that the Government might legalise abortion and introduce sterilisation to control the population explosion.
The October edition of Shield, the monthly Catholic publication, says: “It is reliably reported that a Sterilisation Bill and an Abortion Bill are in the course of preparation and may soon be published.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said yesterday that he had no comment to make on the matter at present, as Government policy had not yet been determined.
An editorial in the magazine says there is no demand in Rhodesia for such legislation, and although it is possible to obtain illegal abortions, there has been no widespread attempt to evade the law.
“The country is, indeed, extremely fortunate in that very few of its children, orphaned or unwanted, are without the protection of the genuine loving care,” it says.
Applications for adoption of European children are far in excess of the number of children available, and African children without care are few and far between, says the Shield.
Father John Gough says in the same edition that “abortion is murder.”
“It is the simple and straightforward killing of a person or what is intended to be a person who is defenceless. The embryo or foetus does not ask to be born even conceived, but it lives, boy or girl,” he says.
Father Gough says that sterilization is medically necessary on occasion “but to sterilise simply to prevent conception is wrong.”
“When this is imposed by law, then the law is wrong,” he says.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
The right to life for unborn babies remains controversial with the church, politicians and civil society expressing strong, but divergent views. Illegal abortions remain criminalised under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform Act).
The Covid-19 pandemic and the extended closure of schools has seen a number of teen pregnancies, raising fears of illegal and unsafe pregnancy terminations.
According to women’s rights groups, illegal abortions are a major health concern. About 70 000 unsafe abortions are carried out every year, contributing to the country’s high level maternal deaths.
Abortion in Zimbabwe is guided by an Act of Parliament — The Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1977. It is a piece of legislation that many in the women’s movement feel needs to be amended in order to move with the times.
The Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (ZWLA) says the law must respond to current settings: “There are a lot of gaps within the Act, and this has made it difficult even for those that qualify to access (abortion) services.”
The Act states that abortion is only permissible if the pregnancy is a result of rape, incest, or where the mother or baby’s life is under threat.
Statistical data from the Ministry of Health and Child Care states that deaths from unsafe abortions account for a third of the maternal deaths (651 deaths per 100 000 live births), and this is considered as one of the highest in the world.
The First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa, speaking at a book launch — “Abortion has Consequences” — in 2020 at Mabelreign Girls High School said, “I believe as a nation, we should protect the life of every child, including the life of an unborn baby. I strongly hope that there is divine destiny for every child”.
Online Reporter