Blantyre Synod says no to abortion
Blantyre Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) says it is against efforts to legalise abortion which is self-induced as doing so is outright killing of a living being.
Speaking in Blantyre on Monday during a regional consultative meeting on the review of the abortion law, the church disagreed with the proposed reform that will eventually allow women to procure an abortion in the country.
Government constituted a Special Law Commission to review the abortion laws, particularly sections 149, 150, 151 and 243 of the Penal Code, which activists have described as restrictive to women. The review process started in July 2013.
But the Blantyre Synod says the church believes in sanctity of life and nobody has the mandate to end the life of another person since all lives belong to God.
Health coordinator for Blantyre Synod’s Health and Development Commission, Chisomo Kasitomu, told the meeting the church’s position was clear that abortion was killing, which is a sin before God.
Kasitomu, who represented the synod, said: “Our position as a synod is no to abortion. According to the Bible, life begins at conception and removing a living foetus is killing.
“The moment a woman conceives, no matter the situation, that is life to us and therefore nobody has the mandate, not even the mother, to terminate it.
“Life taking and life giving is God’s prerogative and as Christians we must always obey God’s laws and live according to His words.”
She also said the church felt people were coming up with the law as a reactive measure and yet there were other better measures to follow and encourage like family planning.
“As a church, we would love to promote family planning as a measure for one not to get pregnant because the issue of abortion would not arise,” she said.
But a study conducted in 2009 by the Ministry of Heath revealed that 80 percent of the women who procure abortions in Malawi are married and come from the religious background.
According to the Penal Code, abortion is an offence and calls for penalties of as much as 14 years imprisonment with hard labour on any person who administers it while any woman who solicits it is liable to a maximum of seven years.
