Features | Sundayobserver.lk

Abortion is a contentious issue which is not restricted to the Asian region and it is an unsorted issue globally. The International Conference on Population and Development Program of Action (1994) that was endorsed by Sri Lanka and many other countries incorporated a rights perspective on population issues including reproductive health. Although it was considered a watershed for reproductive rights, this did not address abortion in any significant way.

While its focus is on the prevention of unintended pregnancies and implementation of post-abortion care, it states that safe abortion services should be provided in countries where abortion is not against the law. This leaves women in countries like Sri Lanka, where abortion laws are very restrictive, with limited options.

Information published by the Community Health Services in Sri Lanka, shows that there are nearly 375,000 abortions done for a year and out of that only 75,000 are done according to the legal framework.

It shows the rising trend in unsafe abortion which is a major health and social concern in the country.

The main reason behind the increase of illegal abortions could be the absence of safe abortion services in the public sector. However, as a country where the law governing on abortion is very restrictive and according to section 303 of the penal code it is only permitting for cases where pregnancy/child birth is life threatening to the mother.

A few months ago the Minister of Child Development and Women's Affairs, Tissa Karalliyadda made a special statement in parliament, relaxing abortion rules in the country; and without limiting the meaning of his statement only to its words, he is further working on to make it a reality by relaxing the abortion rules especially on the areas that he stressed which are on incest and foetal abnormality.

"The initial discussions took place continually for the past few months with the committee members of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Child Development and Women's affairs. They have come to a collective decision and now we are in the process of finalising the draft bill. As soon as we complete it we hope to present it to parliament," speaking to the Sunday Observer the Minister of Child Development and Women's Affairs, Tissa Karalliyadda said.

"However, still we have not received 100 percent supportive response from the important parties. It is not easy to get everybody's support for this kind of controversial topic, but I must say I'm continuing this in good faith for the well-being of the society, which I think everybody should understand.

'A difficult and painful subject'

"A few weeks back there was a timely press communique by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and Ven Itthapane Dharmalankara Nayaka Thera specifically regarding the relaxation of abortion laws in the country," said the spokesman of Catholic Bishops' Church, Rev. Benedict Joseph.

"Abortion is one of the most difficult, controversial and painful subjects in modern society. The principal controversy revolves around the questions of who makes the decision concerning abortion, the individual or the State; under what circumstances it may be done; and who is capable of making the decision," said Rev. Benedict Joseph on behalf of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.

"The Catholic Bishops' Conference has expressed its opposition to the proposed relaxation of laws pertaining to abortions in Sri Lanka and requested the government not to proceed with it. The Cardinal has observed that every life is considered a gift of god, that depriving the right to live is a violation of the teaching of all religions and is inconsistent with our culture. He observed that life begins from the date of conception and it is the duty of all to protect that life which is unable to voice its needs or fight to protect itself," he further mentioned.

We are trying to implement this relaxation on abortion laws only in highly essential areas such as, insect and foetal abnormalities. This is not to legalise abortion, and as a Buddhist I'm completely against that. But we cannot merely ignore the importance of relaxing the abortion rules in these particular areas. It is only to ensure the well-being of the society and to safeguard the future generations of the country," the Minister further said.

"I have a humble request for those who are against this upcoming relaxation law on abortion; please rise against abuse of women and children which is increasing day by day. We are living in a country where the Buddha stepped in.

But it is questionable why and how this much of abuse is taking place in this country.

Therefore, it is vital to look in to this matter in a much broader sense to safeguard women and children of our country," he further added. When considering the maternal health in the country it is doing extremely well and it is maintained up to standards.

As a developing country we have been able to achieve reductions in maternal mortality and Sri Lanka has the lowest maternal mortality rate in the South Asian region. However, it is a noticeable fact that being so conscious about the maternal health, we have purposely ignored the daily rising abortion rates in the country; it is against due to many social constraints we have within the society itself.

"Abortion is one of the major issues when considering the social issues in Sri Lankan society. It is one of the most important and most sensitive topics because it is on one hand about an unborn life and on the other, it's about a victimised woman.

Therefore it is quite essential to have an accepted legal framework with regards to this sensitive matter, because this goes hand in hand with many social, cultural and economical issues in the society.

However, it is a positive sign for a progressive society to see the authority's consciousness and the willingness to look in to this matter in a more moderate manner," said, Head of the Social Sciences Department, University of Colombo, Prof Premakumar de Silva.

"Abortion would not be a pleasant experience for any woman. Nobody wants to be victimised by this unpleasant situation.

There are many reasons behind it; Every year statistics show that most of the women who have gone through abortions are married women and it is mainly due to the poor economic condition of the families and it is due to unwanted pregnancies.

Though it is quite positive as a starting point to relax abortion rules in at least two areas such as insect and foetal abnormalities, it is equally essential to go in to the root cause of the problem, to get a better understanding about the problem," he further added.

Considering this situation, it is not fair and it wouldn't be much effective to leave the controversial topic of relaxing on abortion laws at least in specific areas to be addressed only by the Ministries or relevant authorities.

This issue will not be addressed unless the debate becomes far more broadbased than it is now, which is only restricted at the authority level.

In reality, the victimised women will access abortion services if they need them, whether we like it or not, as it's the bitter reality of the country.

Therefore, it is time to think in a broader mindset to safeguard and the youth. That will leads us to a progressive society.

Wider dialogue on abortion vital