Confronted as we all are, with South Africa's shocking statistics on violent crime - from killing people for a cell phone to dismembering victims after a rape, one can't help wondering whether the national disregard for life, shown by the refusal to care for, and the brutal treatment of so many children in the womb, might be having an impact on the national psyche.
Cheryllyn Dudley MP ACDP
Throughout the world, abortion is one of the most heated topics with both sides of the argument often losing sight of the main point; that in nurturing a healthy community and ultimately a healthy nation, children, including pre-born children, must have a right to life – and at the same time pregnant women in difficult and often desperate situations need relevant help in their circumstances.
We have had abortion on demand in this country for 16 years now and many hundreds of thousands of children have been blotted from the pages of life. Researchers say the effects of abortion are leaving deep scars on society and whether we like it or not, abortion on demand is affecting us all. Still the majority of people in South Africa or at least the leaders they vote for - maintain that Abortion on demand is a freedom they want to protect.
Abortion law reform, advocates have argued prior to legalising abortion that it would have a positive effect on society. Decades later, their predictions have proven false. The mother and child mortality rate in South Africa has shocked the world and it is increasingly alarming. A law that was intended to promote women’s health completely missed its purpose. Many argued that the law was necessary to protect women from the risks of backstreet abortions yet in reality the numbers of ilegal abortions have increased – only now we have 80 thousand plus babies a year aborted in addition. We also have mothers who want to carry their babies to full term and give birth to a live and healthy child, at risk in health facilities as critical staff shortages are made worse by what is known as ‘abortion overloading’.
Abortions in South Africa are now mostly initiated by a drug not recommended or meant for the purpose of abortion but condoned by government because of its side effect of inducing labour. The ACDP has called on government, many times to ban the use of Mysoprostil for abortions but it is still provided by GP’s, pharmacists, legal and backstreet abortionists. Women and girls are told to take the pills and to visit a clinic if bleeding persists after the baby is expelled. Apart from the trauma experienced by women and girls – their subsequent need of emergency treatment at hospitals having a miscarriage – creates problems as theatre time, hospital beds, blood, and hospital staff, which are all in short supply, are no longer available for women giving birth to babies they want when they are in need of those services. These women and their babies too often don’t make it through their crisis and lives are lost due to the congestion or ‘overloading’.
Confronted as we all are, with South Africa's shocking statistics on violent crime - from killing people for a cell phone to dismembering victims after a rape, one can't help wondering whether the national disregard for life, shown by the refusal to care for, and the brutal treatment of so many children in the womb, might be having an impact on the national psyche.
Few people realise that abortion is not a simple procedure –bloody and violent. Of course legal abortion makes it easier for pimps, boyfriends, abusers and even husbands to avoid the responsibility of a child and to ensure no loss of income or favours provided by the woman – this however is tragic distortion of the freedom woman were promised!
CTOP legislation also disenfranchises men in South Africa who have no legal rights when it comes to the life of their unborn children. They know their partner can, at any time, terminate the life of their unborn child without their consent or knowledge. Faced with the potential loss of a child people protect themselves by not becoming attached and when a father does not attach to his baby, he is less likely to support his partner. Studies show that a woman is more likely to have an abortion or miscarriage when she is not supported - and the vicious cycle continues!
A father that does not bond with his unborn baby is more likely to abandon the family and less likely to be protective after the baby is born. Men, who have been deprived of deeply ingrained male prerogatives, also feel both impotence and rage that can express itself as family and societal violence. Incidence of rape and marital and family violence has been shown to increase as abortion increases. Far from decreasing the crime rate as advocates of eugenics claimed would happen, abortion is more likely to be related to the increase of abuse and violence we are witnessing.
Separate studies have found that abortion impairs a woman’s ability to bond with subsequent children, suggesting a correlation between abortion and rates of child abuse and neglect. Since few women divulge they have had an abortion, thousands of women are bearing this burden alone, with heavy consequences for family and marriage relationships.
Many post-abortive women experience immediate psychological consequences – others suppress their symptoms successfully only to have them manifest years later - post-abortion syndrome is a diagnosable psychological condition. A psychologist’s list of consequences of induced abortion includes guilt, depression, grief, anxiety, sadness, shame, helplessness and hopelessness, lowered self-esteem, distrust, hostility towards self and others, regret, sleep disorders, nightmares, anniversary reactions, psycho-physiological symptoms, suicidal ideation and behaviour, alcohol and/or chemical dependencies, sexual dysfunction, insecurity, numbness, painful re-experiencing of the abortion, relationship disruption, communication impairment, isolation, foetal fantasies, self condemnation, flashbacks, uncontrollable weeping, eating disorders, preoccupation, confused and/or distorted thinking, bitterness, and a sense of loss and emptiness.
The ACDP has always opposed the legalisation of abortion and in 2007 tabled a proposal in Parliament for a Private Members Bill in the form of a Constitutional Amendment in order to include the right to life of the unborn child. And in 2010 we submitted a proposal for another Private Members Bill, this time, an amendment to the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act to ensure informed choice. Presently legislation does not protect women, who should receive comprehensive counselling and have access to a scan if they are to give truly informed consent for a termination of pregnancy. Both proposals were opposed by other parties and ultimately unsuccessful.
The case brought by South Africa’s Christian Lawyers Association versus our Minister of Health, which challenged the validity of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act on the basis that it violated the right to life in section 11 of the Bill of Rights cut straight to the heart of the issue. However, the Pretoria High Court dismissed their argument, ruling that constitutional rights only apply to people and not to a foetus.
Terms such as 'baby', 'foetus', and 'infant' are used interchangeably and to create distinction yet throughout the world pregnant women refer to their ‘bump’ as a baby from the moment they know they are pregnant. Like the British Royal couple, they proudly declare "We are going to have a baby!” Instinctively parents and well-wishers are in no doubt as to the unborn child's personhood; every reproductive magazine encourages the parents to tickle, talk and sing to the little one growing inside its mother.
Economic reasons are grounds for abortion in South Africa but does abortion impact on the economy?
Most people are programmed to think that overpopulation is a global threat, yet it is the opposite that is true. As Longman notes in Demographic Winter, no society has both a shrinking population and a growing economy. The two are incompatible. Population growth is a major source of economic growth; more people create more demand for products and services and also supply labour that is needed for industry and commerce.
The age of a population or the ratio of older people to younger people is also a reliable indication of the economic health and future of a nation. Future prosperity is determined, to a significant degree, by the number of children being born today. The more people in their peak spending years, the more spending you have on everything from housing, to travel, and taxes paid. As a population ages, it spends less. The irony is that our material prosperity depends on future generations - and right now, a significant percentage of all pregnancies in the nation are being aborted.
Surely every child deserves to be protected... those who are wanted and those who are said to be unwanted, those whose parents can afford them and those who can't, in the womb and out of it. Human rights are valueless if we don’t value human life – this cannot be what is envisaged by Freedom under Law!
