The Sunday Mail
Coddy Fungai Nyamundanda
Legal Matters
Abortion has always been a subject for debate with many people asking whether an expecting mother has the right to choose to keep her unborn baby or not.
Abortion refers to the process of terminating a pregnancy, resulting in the death of an uborn child. Sometimes, this is referred to as “termination of pregnancy”.
There are two sides to the argument.
The “pro-life” group are the people who stand against abortion and believe that abortion should be illegal as they believe that the foetus is an innocent person and that it is morally wrong to end its life.
On the other hand, those of the pro-choice believe that abortion should be legalised as they believe that women should have the right to decide what happens with their body. They argue that since the baby is not fully developed yet, then abortion is not murder.
But it is really unfortunate that when arguing about abortion, most people get caught up in the rights of the mother and completely forget about the child.
The laws of Zimbabwe do not legalise abortion except in certain circumstances. I do not see the lawmakers even considering legalising it any time soon. At least that is how I see it.
To start with, I believe that the biggest argument on abortion is “when does life begin?’’
Does human personhood begin at conception? If so, is abortion murder?
According to “Does Human Personhood Begin at Conception?” by Peter Kreeft, he states that each and every cell in one’s body has human life, and a single cell kept alive in a laboratory could be considered “human-life” but not “a human-being”.
A human-being is a human who is capable of emotion, such as thinking, loving, knowing, feeling, committing, relating, aspiring; and is one who is able to know the past, future, the environment and can communicate.
Well, pro-choice arguments are that the foetus is not a person and therefore does not have the right to life. Thus, the general mindset is that a foetus isn’t a person until establishment or until it first breathes independently.
But then, if a foetus is not a child, what is it then? Every foetus in his or her mother’s womb grows and develops to the point where the human race considers it a baby. All foetuses are children and human beings, so they deserve the same rights that are enjoyed by everyone else.
There are many reasons why abortion has been legalised in other countries; mainly because not all women are ready to be mothers, not all foetuses are healthy enough for normal life, and that outlawing the procedure will most definitely not stop it from happening.
Abortion is surrounded by conflict, with highly committed arguments on both sides.
However, people must consider their own unique rights, as well as cases that involve incest, rape, and child abnormalities in the womb that may cause the mother’s death. But abortion should not be limited to these cases.
Religious groups oppose abortion, however, they practice their religions because they have the freedom to do so.
The same thing should also apply in this debate. Women should have the freedom to have an abortion if it were their choice. Not to say abortion should be literally equated to religion, but this is in the context of freedom of choice.
The motivation behind this mindset is that abortion is not murder and it should become legal within the first six months of a woman’s pregnancy as she has a right to her body.
Nonetheless, even an unborn child gains rights as it develops. Therefore pro-life advocates believe that a human is made as soon as the sperm fuses with the egg. They argue that a foetus is alive and has a separate DNA, therefore, is a potential human being and has rights to life as a unique individual.
However, some people believe that abortion is justified when a woman conceives after being raped. Such victims might not wish to raise children born of such circumstances as they would be a constant reminder of the torment that would have befallen them.
Due to the complexities of the issues, abortion will continue to be a subject for debate in and outside the country.
However, there is also no doubt that unwanted pregnancies will continue occuring within the country.
There is need to help the involved women. Apart from the recognised reasons for aborting, there are various instances in which women may choose to abort.
Some might not be ready for motherhood or the timing might be wrong, others might not be financially ready for a baby while others might be having relationship problems. These are just a few of the possible reasons.
But despite these reasons, many still believe that nothing in the world is enough to justify taking the life of an innocent child.
In every single abortion case, the child is brutally murdered and the mother is left scarred from killing her own child. No matter the circumstances, there is no way to validate abortions.
Abortion should not be rashly legalised because it denies unborn children the right to life by viciously killing them with the conscience that they cannot decide whether they would want to exercise their constitutional right to life or not.
Further, what about the thoughts of the father of the child? Should the father be consulted in making the decision? What about the thoughts of the grandmother-to-be or sibling(s)-to-be? Should the mother be left to make this huge decision on her own?
But in all fairness, sometimes the fathers are just not ready to take responsibility and they are the causes of some of the abortions. Some even arrange payment for the procedure while others force the women into it. There are cases where some parents force their daughters to abort, all in the name of “reputation” or “social standing” in their communities.
The reasoning is simple. Each stage of maturity before a baby is born are named. During the first week, we have a zygote; an embryo (second to eighth week of development), and then a foetus (the ninth week until birth). After birth; it is classified as a baby, a toddler, a child, a teenager, an adult, and then a senior citizen.
What is interesting in this debate is that both arguments come from living people. Every single group is made up of human beings and not certain things.
Even the founding values and principles in our Constitution of Zimbabwe clearly states that there should be recognition of the equality of all human beings.
The United States Declaration of Independence also states that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
But some sections argue that illegalising it is forcing many women to seek backyard abortions that are done by unlicensed physicians, or to perform the procedure on themselves.
Just because some expectant mothers are seeking backyard abortions does not mean it should be legalised. There are many crimes in this world that are still illegal even though people still still do them on the black market. People will always seek the black market to do illegal things.
The Ten Commandments states, “Thou shall not kill.” (Exodus 20:13). The act of killing involves stopping a heartbeat, that’s what you do to a baby when you abort a pregnancy. The Bible teaches us that abortion is wrong, it gives a very distinct impression on abortion – “You formed me in the womb when I was growing there in secret,” (Psalm 139).
Legislation supporting abortion in other countries give women the right to conveniently murder their unwanted children. That is a beneficial choice that blesses the idea of not having to deal with your responsibilities. It is a split decision that has long-term effects.
I believe we should not have to decide indefinitely to be for or against abortion. What I think about this issue are two entirely different matters.
I am not sure where I stand on this issue but l believe that circumstances should be the guiding factor.
However, I want to reach out to those, who like myself, are stuck in that grey area and assure them that they are not alone.
We cannot deny that abortion involves taking a life and there is no excuse for that.
lmagine being violently ripped off your warm bed; instantly killed, and thrown into a cold stainless steel bowl. You’ve just felt what an aborted baby feels when the doctor rips them piece by piece from a warm uterus, and discards them into a cold stainless steel bowl.
Coddy Fungai Nyamundanda is a legal practitioner who writes in his personal capacity. For feedback, [email protected]
