Loophole in abortion act
2005-02-02 10:05
Johannesburg - Registered doctors in South Africa can perform abortions for whatever reasons on women who are more than 20 weeks pregnant without fear of being prosecuted.
This "very worrying situation" is the result of a "terrible loophole" in the Choice about Termination of Pregnancy Act.
Prof Tom Coetzee, criminal law lecturer at the University of North West, said on Tuesday it seemed as if the architects of the law never considered punishing doctors for performing abortions after 20 weeks into the pregnancy.
The act makes provision for three periods of legal abortion.
Up to 12 weeks, the abortion can be performed at the request of the woman.
Between 13 and 20 weeks, the abortion has to be performed by a doctor and one of a few conditions of the act must be met.
This includes that the continued pregnancy is detrimental to the social and economic welfare of the woman, that she had been raped or that the pregnancy poses a risk to her physical or mental well-being.
After 20 weeks, the abortion may only be done by a doctor who has consulted with another doctor and there must be very serious complications with the pregnancy, such as a danger that the child could be deformed.
"The problem, however, is that the act does not declare it a punishable offence, in the section that describes crimes and their punishments, when a doctor performs an abortion without adhering to the conditions in the act.
"In practical terms, this means that any doctor in the country can perform an abortion on a woman who is more than 20 weeks pregnant for whatever reason the doctor deems fit and have no fear of criminal prosecution.
"It is a terrible flaw in the act and opens abortions up to serious abuse.
"The legislature should intervene urgently to correct this mistake," Coetzee said.
Sibani Mngadi, spokesperson for Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, and James Ngculu, chairperson of the portfolio committee on health, were not available for comment on Tuesday.
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