Traditional leaders have expressed their disapproval of calls by legislators for the legalisation of abortion through the abolition of the Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1977.
Speaking in the National Assembly last week, chairperson of the health and childcare portfolio committee, Daniel Molokele, who is also Hwange Central MP (CCC) said the Act should be repealed, arguing that it was against the promotion of gender equality as enshrined in the constitution and placed women in dangerous situations.
Molokele also stated that there was empirical evidence demonstrating a high prevalence of pregnancy termination, particularly among high school and university students.
Reacting to Molokele’s call for abortion to be legalised, Chief Ngungumbane of Mberengwa District in Midlands province, likened abortion to the murder of an innocent soul.
Speaking to the Chronicle, the traditional leader said the calls for the legalisation of abortion go against Zimbabwe’s cultural norms and values, adding that Zimbabweans rejected its legalisation during the 2013 constitutional review exercise. He added:
That is taboo. It is just the same as murder of an innocent soul hence its rejection in 2013, the same way gay rights were rejected.
These calls do not resonate well with our cultural norms and values, and even the marriage fabric will be badly affected.
Chief Ngungumbane warned Zimbabweans against ” importing” foreign cultures in the name of human rights.
Chief Siabuwa of Binga said a child was a blessing from God and terminating pregnancy was going against the creator himself. He said:
Do you want to die yourself as an individual, no one wants to die. Are children not a blessing from God and we all know they are? So, why are you denying them a right to life?
Zimbabwe Council of Chiefs president, Senator Chief Mtshane Khumalo of Bubi District also described legalising abortion as a foreign practice. He said:
As traditional leaders, there is nowhere we can recommend abortion, it is something foreign to our values and knowing the present Parliament, I don’t see that motion getting any support at all, there is no way that we can support this.
Archbishop Alex Thomas of the Roman Catholic Church’s Archdiocese of Bulawayo said:
The Bible clearly states that thou shall not kill. Abortion must only be in exceptional cases as enshrined in the law otherwise making it open will only make things worse for our society.
However, Reverend Nhlanganiso Moyo of the Presbyterian Church said that he was not opposed to abortion, saying the issue was never mentioned in the Bible. He said:
It should be legalised but with clear text that only on strong reasons must a person abort, otherwise we may lose our moral values and social fibre.
We welcome the proposal to review the Termination of Pregnancy to expand the circumstances under which safe abortion is allowed.
Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe health cluster lead executive director, Edinah Masiyiwa, told the Chronicle that her organisation was firmly behind calls to repeal the Act. She said:
Women are dying from unsafe abortions, and treating unsafe abortion is costly to the nation compared to offering women safe abortion services.
The Termination of Pregnancy Act only permits abortion in three specific scenarios:
- The continuation of the pregnancy endangers the woman’s life or poses a serious threat of permanent impairment to her physical health.
- The child may be born with serious physical or mental defects.
- The fetus was conceived as a result of rape or incest.
More: Pindula News