Our Women Must not Die

ABORTION is illegal in this country, we all know that, but we all know what obtains. So it is illegally legal. In those days, it was a rarity for married couple to approach a doctor for an abortion except on medical ground, in which case, the matter was usually brought up by the doctor. Abortion then was the exclusive preserve of teenagers, adolescents and unmarried female adults.  The reasons were crystal clear- pregnancy meant a premature termination of educational pursuit, the girl became a family stigma, and the child, a neon sign of previous exploits. Add all these up, what you get is a much diminished chance of a worthy husband.

Today’s scenario calls for yesteryears. More women are going for abortion, that’s not all, married women now form a sizeable proportion. A doctor is usually at a cross-road when consulted by a couple wishing to terminate a pregnancy. If he refuses, a quack is likely to be the alternative. What could become of the woman?, chronic pelvic infection, infertility, or even death. The just mentioned cocktail is easily produced by a mixture of austerity, rise in abortion rate and increased activities of quacks, yes, when stirred in glass in the right proportions, you get the death cocktail.

Most civilized countries have legalised abortion. Laws are made for the society, when a sizeable proportion refuses to obey that law it becomes a nullity. When unnecessarily enforced, the activities go underground with the attendant unpleasant consequences. That girl lying in hospital or in a casket is/was someone’s child nurtured to that level through sheer hard work, sometimes self-imposed starvation and love. My heart bleeds for any case. Puritan preaching with pious judgement is not enough.

We must not allow our women to die unnecessarily.

Happy reading

Publisher