—–As 19- year- old girl gets a five year jail sentence for abortion
Mathatisi Sebusi
HUMAN rights lawyer, Advocate ‘Mamosa Mohlabula, has called on the government to consider decriminalising abortion to help foster ?safe abortions among women.
She says legalising abortion would not only preserve the lives of women and young girls who die from failed unsafe abortions but would also save the health sector from spending money on caring for patients with ailments from botched abortions.
Additionally, she says legalising abortion saves women from the economic burden of raising unwanted children, giving them the freedom to make choices with their bodies, and to make decisions that align with their future plans.
In an interview with?Sunday Express?on Friday, Adv Mohlabula, said it made no sense that the country spent a lot of money on post abortion care which was costly, instead of ensuring availability of safe abortions for women and girls who could not afford to keep their pregnancies.
She said there was need for strong advocacy to persuade the government to give women freedom and rights to their bodies.
“The country has shown a lot of resistance to legalising abortion. It does not make sense that a person is imprisoned for making a decision that concerns their body,” Adv Mohlabula said.
According to Adv Mohlabula, during the consultation stages of the Penal Code draft bill, passed in 2012 criminalizing abortion, they had suggested that socio-economic issues ?be considered to allow abortion when a mother felt that she could not afford to keep her pregnancy. But to their disappointment, their input was ignored.
“We had suggested socio- economic issues to be considered among justifiable reasons to allow women and girls to terminate pregnancies. But that was not considered,” Adv Mohlabula said.
“Abortion is a reality and all we need to do as a country is accept it and find ways to ensure that it is done properly and lives are saved, and the government does not have to bear the financial burden to offer post abortion care.”
According to the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization that promotes the well-being of families and communities, a majority of women think unplanned births negatively affect a woman’s life.
More than 8 in 10 women surveyed in 2016, said an unplanned birth negatively affected a woman’s life.? More than half of the women surveyed said an unplanned birth had a negative impact on at least four of seven key indicators of a better life. It affected a woman’s education prospects, income, mental health, and job prospects.
Adv Mohlabula’s call comes in the wake of last Wednesday’s conviction of 19-year-old Khoboso Motsapi of Qacha’s Nek, who was sentenced to five years in prison or a M5000 fine for the illegal termination of her pregnancy.
The prison sentence and half of the fine were suspended. She then paid the M2500 fine and was released.
Motsapi’s story – posted on the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS)’s social media page, attracted furious reactions from women enraged by the conviction.
Most commenters were of the view that abortion should be legalised in Lesotho to spare women the shame that came with committing illegal abortions.
One commenter said: “If she was my daughter, I would have taken her for an abortion. I would not have a 19-year-old in my house having a baby and missing out on her youth. I am talking about my own child here, so don’t ask questions.”
The general view from the comments was that the government of Lesotho should legalise abortion to give women and girls, the freedom to decide what to do with their bodies.
The commenters questioned why only women were held accountable for committing abortions and not the men who impregnated them. ?
The?Sunday Express?also reached out to Minister of Justice and Law, Richard Ramoeletsi on the issue. He ?said although legalising abortion was controversial, there was a possibility of government considering its legalisation, especially because neighbouring South Africa had already done so.
He however said Lesotho was not the only country “which is taking its time to legalize termination of pregnancies” as even developed countries such as the United States had not legalised the procedure “because of beliefs and practices”.
The US supreme court recently outlawed Roe vs Wade, the seminal precedent setting case that had legalised abortion in that county for more than 50 years. The court empowered individual states, that constitute the US, to make their own decisions about abortion. States run by conservative Republicans immediately instituted sweeping measures banning abortions.? The decision enraged women and ?several liberal human rights groups.
The abortion issue has become so emotive in the US that it is playing out loudly in the campaign for the November 2024 elections.? President Joe Biden – seeking re-election – ?has vowed to restore Roe vs Wade if returned to office while ?his main opponent – former President Donald Trump – responsible for appointing the conservative judges who overthrew the national right to abortion – is happy with the new status quo.
Mr Ramoeletsi said Lesotho was burdened by the high statistics of youth who performed illegal abortions, ending up in hospitals in high numbers.
He acknowledged that resulted in high costs to the government as precious funds had to be utilised to provide post abortion medical care and treatment for conditions that arose ?from botched abortions.
He said education for girls and women on how to avoid ?unwanted pregnancies should be strengthened.
According to Section 44 of the Penal Code Act, 2012, “a person who disposes of the dead body of a new-born child with intent to conceal the fact of its birth, whether the child died before, during or after birth, commits an offence”.
Section 45(1) reads “A person who does any act bringing about the premature termination of pregnancy in a female person with the intention of procuring a miscarriage, commits the offence of abortion.
?“…. A defence to the charge will be only if the abortion has been performed by a registered medical practitioner in order to prevent significant harm to the health of the pregnant female person, and the person performing the act has obtained a written opinion from another registered medical practitioner to the effect that the termination of pregnancy is necessary to avoid significant harm to the health of the pregnant person.”
It further states that, “…. the abortion can be performed by a registered medical practitioner in order to prevent the birth of a child who will be seriously physically or mentally handicapped, and the person performing the abortion has obtained in advance from another medical practitioner a certificate to the effect that the termination of the pregnancy is necessary to avoid the birth of a seriously physically and mentally handicapped child.”
As per the legislation, abortion is only legalised “whereby a female is pregnant because of incestuous relationship or is a victim of rape”.
Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) Public Relations Officer, Thakane Mapeshoane-Sepipi, could not immediately provide latest information on the number of girls and women admitted at the main referral hospital from complications from botched abortions.
However, former QMMH spokesperson, Mothepane Thahane, previously admitted that a high number of women and girls were admitted at the hospital for medical care after failed abortions, with wards overflowing at times. As a hospital, she said their primary mandate was to save lives. They therefore admitted every patient without regard to how the abortions had been performed.
A nurse working at QMMH who spoke to the?Sunday Express?on condition of anonymity, because he is not authorised to speak to the press, said ?the hospital received “a lot of patients who need treatment for failed illegal abortions”.
He added that most of them were reluctant to reveal that they had terminated their pregnancies “considering that abortion is illegal in the country”.
“Illegal abortion is a big challenge. The burden is not only being experienced by this hospital but others countrywide,” he said.