Paradox
The paradox of it all is that rampant unsafe abortions are happening despite the country having a very restrictive abortion law. Meaning. Malawi’s abortion law is useless. It miserably fails to stop unsafe abortions. For starters, the country is still stuck with a colonial law formulated in the 1800s which Malawi adopted wholesale in 1964 after independence without changing even a comma, an apostrophe or a clause. Under the Colonial Penal Code of 1930 (Sections 149-151), which Malawi is using to date, the performance of abortions is generally illegal. A person who unlawfully uses any means with intent to procure an abortion is subject to 14 years’ imprisonment. The law, adopted wholesale by the government of Malawi, states that “a pregnant woman who unlawfully uses any means or permits the use of such means with intent to procure her own abortion is subject to seven years’ imprisonment. “A person who unlawfully supplies or procures any thing whatever, knowing that it is intended to be unlawfully used to procure an abortion, is subject to three years’ imprisonment.” Nonetheless, abortions can be legally performed in Malawi to save the life of the pregnant woman. Section 243 of the Penal Code provides that a person is not criminally responsible for performing in good faith and with reasonable care and skill a surgical operation upon an unborn child for the preservation of the mother’s life if the performance of the operation is reasonable.” A local renowned gynaecologist Dr Chisali Mhango once branded Malawi’s abortion law as toothless and irrelevant. “Restrictive abortion laws do not stop abortion from occurring, they just drive it underground, forcing women to resort to clandestine procedures, which are often unsafe,” said Dr. Chisale Mhango, senior lecturer at the College of Medicine. He added: “This outdated law has failed to address the problem of unsafe and unsafe abortion which at the moment is an urgent public health priority.” New proposed law Despite the legal restrictions in place on abortion in Malawi, the practice still occurs and is usually performed by untrained personnel or induced by pregnant women themselves. With research estimates showing rampant unsafe abortions, in February 2015 the Law Commission recommended liberalisation of the law on the evidence of the negative health impact of unsafe abortions, the high cost of providing post-abortion care, and citing Malawi’s obligation to provide safe abortion provision as a signatory of the Maputo Protocol and other conventions. In the proposed law, girls and women in Malawi will be allowed to terminate their pregnancies at the hospitals with support from certified health service provider where he or she is of the opinion, in good faith, that— (a) the continued pregnancy will endanger the life of a pregnant woman; (b) the termination of pregnancy is necessary to prevent injury to the physical or mental health of a pregnant woman; (c) there is severe malformation of the foetus which will affect its viability or compatibility with life; or (d) the pregnancy is a result of rape, incest or defilement: Provided that the incident of rape, incest or defilement has been reported to Police, and that the pregnancy has not exceeded sixteen (16) weeks from the date of conception. The proposed law outlaws seeking abortion services in hospitals due to socio-economic circumstances of the pregnant woman. It also emphasises, “termination of pregnancy shall not be performed on demand or for any other reason.”Huge support
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CSJ training Uchembele Wa Bwino groups in Mulanje[/caption]
While some urbanites who clandestinely get abortion services at private clinics are on the forefront of opposing abortion law reform, rural-based SRHR (Uchembele Wa Bwino) groups are in full support of the proposed reforms.
“For those of us who have buried our relations who have died due to unsafe abortions, we would be extremely happy if the proposed law is passed,” said one woman during the Mulanje meeting.
Group Village Headwoman Tambala of Mulanje added: “We appeal to our government to ensure that this law is passed. Issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights are personal and private. Those who do not want to access abortion services due to their religious or cultural beliefs should be respected and those who are desperate to access such services should not be denied the opportunity. But no single group should force their views on others.”
Making a presentation during the training of SRHR women groups from Mulanje, Ligomeka said it was a pity that the issue of abortion was a class issue.
He said: “The rich, the urbanites, the educated, the middle and the upper class know where to get safe abortion procedures and pretend to be holy during public debates. It is the poor, the villagers, the lower class, the bare-feet women and girls here in Malawi who are bearing the heavy burden of unsafe abortions.
Ligomeka added: “No wonder when we call for abortion law reform, the hypocrites are on the forefront to oppose abortion law reform claiming we are a God-fearing nation. Why do we mock God with our hypocrisy? Should a nation where corruption is rampant, rape and defilement are soaring only cite the moniker of God-fearing nation when it comes to abortion law reform?”
According to Ligomeka, male chauvinism and outmoded patriarchal system which deliberately uses culture and religion to oppress women is responsible for the slow progress in the enactment of the proposed Termination of Pregnancy Bill.
He praised SRHR women groups in rural areas for supporting abortion law reform.
Ligomeka said Centre for Solutions Journalism (CSJ) believes that access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health programmes is important in addressing maternal mortality and morbidity, fighting HIV and AIDS, and meeting the sexual and reproductive health needs of women and men while at the same time promoting human rights.
With funding from Safe Abortion Action Fund, CSJ, a human rights media organization is training rural-based SRHR groups on the proposed Termination of Pregnancy Bill in three southern Malawi districts of Mulanje, Chiradzulu and Zomba.