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Church up in arms against proposed new abortion law

It further stated that the Church categorically rejected any attempt to legalise abortion, a synonym for murder. “Therefore, we ask the government not to proceed with this law, since murder, in all its forms, is an abominable crime,” it said in a statement recently.

The proposed law is being opposed not only by the Church, majority of Buddhist clergy too are against
legalising abortion in the country.

Although the Muslim community, the second largest minority after the Tamils, have not publicly voiced their opinion, abortion is not allowed until it is found that carrying the baby is life threatening to the mother. In response, the government is considering conditional abortion.

Currently, according to Sri Lankan law, abortion is allowed when the pregnancy or child birth is life threatening to the mother. Otherwise, it is considered illegal. However, according to government statistics, one thousand abortions are being carried out every day — only a few of them legal. This comes to a staggering 365,000 abortions per year for a population of just 20 million 
people. Five hundred of these are carried out in the 
capital Colombo, say records.

The figures are disturbing, prompting a response from the government to allow abortion under certain conditions. According to Minister of Child Development and Women’s Affairs Tissa Karalliyadde, under the amended law, abortions will be permitted in the case of underage rape, underage victims of incest by a family member or blood relatives and of foetuses with severe abnormalities. The women who belong to these categories will be able to apply legally for abortion following the legal amendments.

Women activists and proponents of women’s affairs have sided with the government’s plan for legalising conditional abortion despite their general claim of aversion towards the practice. In Sri Lanka, say activists, it is not only the rape or incest victims who undergo abortion, but a large number of married women, who because of lack of knowledge about family planning and who can’t afford to have more children due to financial constraints, also go for abortion.

And abortion more often than not, is a grisly affair in Sri Lanka as in most developing countries. Social stigma drives women — even rape and incest victims — into the hands of unlicensed quack doctors for a quick-fix under unhygienic conditions, resulting in complications and even death. How soon and how far the government will go to implement the new law, remains to be seen in the coming weeks.

Time will also tell how much pressure the strong Catholic Church will exert over the matter.

Meanwhile, the government, social workers and organisations and the community as a whole should concentrate on prevention.

Shocking statistics have revealed that five children are raped per day in Sri Lanka. Combating sexual abuse together with better family planning education would help less women and girls ending up on the chopping block of unlicensed abortionists.

news@khaleejtimes.com