BLANTYRE NOVEMBER 22, 2016(CISA) – The Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) and the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) have condemned the proposed Termination of Pregnancy law.
In a statement dated November 17, the church leaders said that the bill would promote increased abortion among women and girls.
“We observe that the added conditions in the proposed ‘Killing of unborn life Bill’ are a mere scapegoat and trap in order to attract public sympathy and also capitalize on such in order to advance abortion on demand among women and girls,” reads the statement signed by Fr Henry Saindi and Rev. Francis Mkandawire ECM and EAM general secretaries respectively.
The leaders said that “the inclusion of the clause in the proposed law is not to promote life but rather a hidden abortion on demand because poverty, shame, unplanned pregnancy, getting kicked out of school can cause mental or physical health.”
They further noted that the bible does not condone abortion and were therefore sinful to engage in such activities adding that “Justice demands that only perpetrators pay for their crimes, not the innocent unborn child.”
The leaders said that majority of maternal deaths in Malawi was due to lack of basic healthcare and therefore called for improved access to, and the quality of, prenatal and postnatal healthcare.
The performance of abortion is illegal in Malawi with the exception of where it can be done to save the life of the pregnant woman in extreme conditions.
However, the proposed abortion law adds the following conditions as necessitating abortion: prevent of injury to the physical or mental health of a woman; where the pregnancy results from rape, incest or defilement; and where several malformation of the fetus, which will alter its viability or compatibility with life.
