A fourteen-year-old rape victim has filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Health for denying her the right to terminate her pregnancy. Every girl and woman on the planet is entitled to reproductive rights; yet, in a country like Malawi, there are some limitations to some of the rights , among them includes the right to abortion. The abortion laws in this country are restrictive, as they deny women and girls access to safe and legal abortion unless/only if a girl's/woman's life is in danger; anyone who performs an abortion outside of those conditions faces up to 14 years in prison.
Any woman or girl seeking an abortion is required to obtain a doctor's authorization stating how the pregnancy might be a danger her health and life in general. This fourteen-year-old, like many before and after her, is legally compelled to keep the pregnancy even if she does not want it even_ if that alone (not wanting to keep it) is a valid reason to terminate pregnancy.
Since 2015, activists in Malawi have been advocating for the reform of abortion laws. If the bill ever get passed, it will result in the decriminalization of abortion, which will help save lives and provide women with access to safe and legal abortion. The bill was last introduced in parliament in 2021 by a Member of Parliament, Matthews Ngwale, who stated that there are an increasing number of justified scenarios for the termination of undesired pregnancies that are not covered by current law. However, it was shut down, and here we are, in 2023 still debating over it.
Decision-makers and religious leaders are firmly opposed to abortion; nonetheless, this does not prevent women and girls from accessing the service illegally. Despite the fact that hundreds of women and girls die each year as a result of abortion complications, those in charge of making things right appear unfazed. According to previous research, unsafe abortion and complications result in about 70-150 deaths per year, on top of that, post-abortion care drains government's health-care resources.
Members of parliament who vote against the liberalization of the abortion law, as well as religious leaders and pro-life activists who protest it are hypocrites. They like to pretend that abortion goes against our beliefs and values as Malawians, but what good is maintaining this pretend image if we keep losing women and girls to something preventable ?
Our legislators consistently fail us; perhaps we should seek different strategies by directly involving the general public to help put an end to this issue. Several states in the United States of America (Ohio and others) tried a different strategy by launching a voter-initiated ballet campaign where citizens were asked to vote on whether or not to amend the state's abortion laws and policy.
We have had a successful referendum before; perhaps this is another issue which calls for one ,let Malawians decide.
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