The Sunday Mail
Veronica Gwaze
Here is a true story.
A 14-year-old girl is was raped several times by her 19-year-old neighbour. The girl falls pregnant. The courts rule that under the circumstances, the pregnancy could be terminated. Her mother wants the abortion carried out. Her father is against abortion.
She is now four months pregnant.
The girl – who we shall not name – lives in Hopely, and last week The Sunday Mail Society sat down with her and the family to hear her story.
“On the first incident, he forced himself on me and as I tried to fight him, I was overpowered. He threatened me with unspecified action as he raped me. I was defenceless.
“He would rape me wily-nilly, even during my menstrual cycles, especially when my parents were not around.”
She found the courage to report the rape, and her abuser was jailed.
The courts said she could abort the pregnancy if she wanted to as she was still in school and also should not have to deal with taking care of a child borne out of rape.
Her father will not countenance abortion.
“I am a Christian; we are all Catholics and abortion is not allowed. If she aborts, it will be against my will.”
This places him at loggerheads with the girl’s mother, from whom he separated in 2014.
“She is still too young; she has no idea of how to take care of herself, let alone a baby. Anongogarorwara (she is always sick) and this shows the pregnancy is overwhelming her. The Bible does not allow abortion but the court allowed it, so let her abort,” said the 32-year-old woman.
Constitutional law expert Professor Lovemore Madhuku says Zimbabwe’s Termination of Pregnancy Act allows abortions under two specific circumstances.
“As provided by the Termination of Pregnancy Act, a person may be allowed to terminate pregnancy if based on how the pregnancy came about, most cases being that it was a result of unlawful circumstances. Secondly only if the foetus threatens the life of the mother.
“Rape is when a man has intercourse with a child who is below the legal majority age of 18 or when a man has intercourse with a woman without her approval.
“Incest is when two closely related individuals who are forbidden by culture to marry have sexual intercourse and worse if the woman proceeds to fall pregnant and handicap is when a man has sexual intercourse with a mentally challenged woman and she falls pregnant.”
Prof Madhuku said in relation to the girl’s issue, if her parents fail to agree on whether or not to terminate pregnancy, the court then makes the final decision.
“Under such circumstances, the courts may consider what the minor wants and after consideration they then grant the most appropriate decision,” he said.
Catholic priest Father Clifford Nhetekwa said the church did not accept abortion.
“The Bible, in the book of Exodus, has commandment number five which says thou shall not kill. These biblical laws give directives without any conditions, so despite the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, thou shall not kill,” said the priest.
However, he said there was one exception.
“Theologically, we look at the principle of double effect whereby we say is this baby a threat to the mother or will be birth of the baby cause permanent damage to the mother or not?
“If there are no such circumstances then there is no excuse for abortion. God is the principal giver of life. Therefore, we should not decide for him.”
Traditionalist Sekuru Friday Chisanyu said African beliefs also did not accept abortion.
“ATR does not promote evil and if then one is killing it means we are fostering it,” he said.
