By Our Reporter
KARONGA, (MaraviPost): The Law maker for Karonga Nyungwe Constituency Richard Msowoya who is also the Speaker of Parliament has asked his followers to allow him support the Abortion Bill which is popularly known as ‘Termination of Pregnancy Bill’ when tabled in the house describing it important.
Msowoya made the remarks recently in his constituency, when the Coalition for the Prevention of Unsafe Abortion (COPUA) a group of 55 organizations in the country was seeking the views of religious and traditional leaders.
Speaking during the function, Msowoya said that the bill will help to reduce the number of neonatal and maternal deaths as well as millions of kwacha that the country waste in dealing with unsafe abortion complication hence asked his followers to allow him support the bill.
“I want to say this in the presence of my chiefs and followers that this bill is not the bill that need to be underrated because it concern the lives of people therefore I need you to allow me support the bill it will tabled in the parliament,” said Msowoya.
“What you can know is that even in Italy and other countries where the Catholic Church exist this bill is there and the neonatal as well as maternal death has reduce so we should not be left behind,” urged Msowoya.
Paramount Chief Kyungu of Karonga district said “the delay of the bill is making the poor women in the country not to access safe abortion as the current laws still restrict them , therefore as traditional leaders we are appealing to all stakeholders to take the matter as an urgent,” said Kyungu.
In his remarks, the chairperson for Karonga pastors fraternal who is also the Anglican Church pastor in the district Father Lesley Mtekateka urged other religious leaders to support the bill as it not allowing the community to carry abortion sloppily but only if the pregnant posses the danger to their lives.
Among the things stipulated in the Termination of Pregnancy Bill which the Malawi Law Commission is proposing after consulting different stakeholders in and outside the country, the law should allow a women to get safe abortion only if the pregnant was due to the rape, incest or defilement case as well as if it endangers a woman’s life.
Meanwhile, Karonga district has registered over 1000 women who aborted unsafely between the month of January and September in the year of 2015 according to the district post abortion care coordinator Kepson Kamanga of which the youths between the ages of 20-30 are in large number.
