c. 1996 Religion News Service
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa _ Passage of a liberal abortion bill gained strength this week as the ruling African National Congress (ANC) instructed its members Thursday (Oct. 17) to vote in favor of the bill rather than allow an open vote, the ANC announced in Cape Town.
The ANC instruction to its 252-member delegation in the South African Parliament Thursday came after three days of hearings in Capetown before the ad hoc committee on health. The often emotional hearings featured more than 90 groups and individuals who made submissions.
The measure, known as the Termination of Pregnancy Bill, has been called one of the most liberal in the world by both pro-life and pro-choice groups here. It would allow abortion on demand up to 12 weeks into a pregnancy and from 13 to 22 weeks under special circumstances.
Recognizing that the bill stands a strong chance of passage because of the ANC majority in Parliament, a delegation of the South African Catholic Bishops Conference pleaded at the hearings that the bill be modified to require women to get the consent of their partners. In the case of minors, the bishops urged the measure require parental consent. The delegation also argued strongly against a clause in the current bill that requires doctors or midwives who decline to give abortions to refer women to practitioners who will.
Mary Armour, who identified herself as a Catholic laywoman, countered the demands of the bishops conference.
“At the end of the day it is unacceptable for a group of celibate men in a church in which women are barred from policy making and the priesthood to both make and interpret moral laws on women’s reproductive choices,” Armour said.
Her comments prompted the members of the Catholic delegation to walk out of the hearings.
The main Protestant body in South Africa, the South African Council of Churches (SACC), argued at the hearings only for the inclusion of a preamble to the bill stating that any unwanted pregnancy is a tragedy and the choice to abort is morally fraught.
“Our position is that we have concern for the people who have unwanted abortions,” said Dan Vaughn, spokesman for the SACC. “Abortion is not a black and white issue; we do not want people to suffer. We want to put a stop to the dangers of back-street abortions.”
Every year in South Africa more than 1,000 women die because of pregnancy-related causes. Around 400 of those are from septic abortions, according to Dr. Eddie Mhlanga, the director of mental health for South Africa’s Department of Health, who gave testimony during the hearings.
South Africa’s current law allows for an abortion only if the mother is mentally unstable, if her health is endangered or in the case of rape or incest. The South Africa Medical Research Council has estimated that 44,686 women are admitted to hospitals each year suffering from complications due to incomplete abortions. Some 84 percent of these women are black; 11 percent are of mixed race; 4 percent are Asian and 1 percent are white.
With the ANC’s control of more than two-thirds of the seats in Parliament, the bill’s passage is essentially ensured. Unlike the U.S. Congress, where Republicans and Democrats often cross party lines, in this parliamentary democracy party members are usually made to vote with the party. Though ANC leaders had earlier indicated they might allow members of their delegation who opposed abortion to vote their consciences, that possibility evaporated with Thursday’s announcement.
Statements also issued following the caucuses of two smaller parties, the National Party and the Democratic Party, indicated that each had offered conditional support for the bill, but said they could not support it in its present form.
The National Party, South Africa’s former ruling party the architect of the country’s current restrictive abortion law, is strongly opposed to provisions in the new measure requiring dissenting doctors and midwives to give referrals and allowing a minor to have an abortion without parental consent.
The National Party warned that it was exploring the possibility of taking the legislation to the country’s Constitutional Court if the ANC insists on pushing the bill through in its current form.
The smaller but influential Democratic Party wants to outlaw abortion on demand between the 13th and the 22nd weeks of pregnancy. It also called for mandatory counseling for minors and said the requirement that dissenting doctors and midwives give referrals ran counter to the nature of conscientious objection.
The Democratic Party also argued that the country’s health service was not prepared for such a dramatic change in the current legislation, saying that medical practitioners need more training in the field.
Statistics show that some parts of South Africa have only three doctors per 100,000 people, leading to the fear that already overworked health care workers will be swamped by requests for abortions when the measure becomes law.
The ad hoc committee on health will continue to meet on the abortion bill until Tuesday (Oct. 22). The bill is expected to be debated in the National Assembly Oct. 29.
JL END FLEMING
