‘Pass Termination of Pregnancy Bill’

Youths in Mzimba District say they will lobby their members of Parliament (MPs) to discuss and adopt the Termination of Pregnancy Bill in Parliament.

The provisions were proposed by the Special Law Commission on the review of Abortion Law in 2016.

Youths from traditional authorities (T/As) Chindi and M’Mbelwa made the call on Friday when Family Planning Association of Malawi (Fpam) engaged them on the Bill.

In an interview, T/A Chindi Youth Network vice-chairperson Innocent Vwalika said they want the Bill to be passed to legalise safe abortion, adding that the restrictive law pushes women and girls to preventable deaths.

He said: “Much as abortion remains a punishable crime in the country, a lot of girls and women are opting for unsafe abortion which results in many complications and deaths.

“On top of it, government is forced to spend a lot of money offering post-abortion care services. So, legalising safe abortion will mean saving lives of girls and women and resources.”

Vwalika also said they will engage chiefs, councillors and legislators in the district on the issue.

Memory Phiri, a representative from T/A M’Mbelwa Youth Network, said many young people in the district do not know the dangers of unsafe abortion.

“We should raise awareness about the dangers of unsafe abortion and encourage youths to use contraceptives to avoid unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions,” she said.

On his part, Mzimba district post-abortion care coordinator Gracious Masewo said from January 2022 to February 2023 the district hospital registered 1 419 post-abortion cases.

“Therefore, as a health office, we call for urgent interventions to prevent loss of lives among girls and women,” said Masewo.

Fpam project manager Gerard Maulidi said they want to impart knowledge to the youth to openly discuss the abortion law reforms.

Fpam is implementing a Wish 2 Action Post Abortion Care Advocacy project in Mzimba District.