Taurayi Musiwa.
Harare, Zimbabwe(News of the South)-53 000 unsafe abortions were recorded by UNFPA last year in this country. Be it legalized or not, it seems people will still continue with this practice, yet the numbers have reached alarming levels that warrant a definate course of action.
Should then abortion be legalized? One should wonder on what specific reasons, since the majority believes it is a sin in a country whose greater percentage has Christian beliefs.
Pastor Patrick Hove of New Life International Ministries said legalizing abortion means you have failed to rule them. It’s an abdication of the fundamental basics of Christianity which places life on a sanctified pedestal.
“How can you legalize crime? , he asked. Biblically having a baby and killing it, is a sin, ” he said.
“Why did you have it and why can’t you avoid it,” Hove added.
“If it is legalized some may abort deliberately, but in some circumstances one may want save life or have been forced to do it”.
Doctor Bernard Madzima said if abortion is legalized, people will abort willingly.
Terming abortion as a failure is however open to debate with some pointing to medicinal advancements, globalization and new technological developments as new life defining parameters that should be included in how people deal with happenings such as abortions.
UNFPA Zimbabwe representative Ms Abigail Msemburi said abstinence is their main message to young people to reduce the number of abortions in the country.
” Young people should be taught decision making so that they are able to decide on their own,” she said.
Statistics revealed that last year 4500 girls in primary school could not go to form 1 because of pregnancies and more are likely to drop out of school.
This scenario reveals how a simple pregnancy can ruin a young women’s chance to plan for their future opening up the debare of whether they should be allowed to terminate their pregnancy.
Others have urged for increased conversations on sex issues between parents and their children.
“The ice should be broken by parents talking to their children about sexual issues , ” said Vince Dube Board Chairperson of Restless Development and public health practitioner.
Dube said most parents have already missed that link to talk about the complications that are brought about by indulging in sexual activities as they try to preserve the conservative African tradition.
“Generally, parents need to talk about sexual issues but then its a taboo in our culture,” she said.
Dube said since children learn about sexual issues from a tender age, it must be part and parcel of life because we cannot separate sex and life.
“Children get into hormonal changes at the age of 9, thus talking to them about sex will help them know that they must not engage when they are still young,” said Dube.
She added that lack of comprehensive knowledge of changes in their bodies leads to unwanted pregnancies.
“Allow them to develop rather than deny them their sexual rights”, she said.
Change however seems to be a long way off as the political will for such liberal changes to society are still not acceptable .
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