Benin's new law on abortion will take into consideration the educational, professional and material situation of women, summarizes researcher Ramatou Ouedraogo.
Benin's parliament has voted to legalize abortion in most cases. This is an unprecedented initiative on the part of this West African country. Indeed 92% of women of childbearing age on the continent living in countries which impose restrictions - some moderate, others severe - on abortion. Moina Spooner, Conversation Africa, asked Ramatou Ouedraogo, reproductive health expert, to explain the significance of this decision.
What does the new Beninese law say on abortion?
La nouvelle Benin abortion law, which modifies a previous law, now states that:
at the request of the pregnant woman, the voluntary termination of pregnancy may be authorized when the pregnancy is likely to aggravate or cause a situation of material, educational, professional or moral distress incompatible with the interests of the woman and / or the unborn child… ”
The voluntary termination of pregnancy should not occur after 12 weeks of amenorrhea, that is to say the absence of periods.
Before this amendment, a woman could obtain an abortion if it endangered her health or her life, in the event of fetal malformation, or when the pregnancy was the result of incest or rape. The new law goes further and seeks to protect a woman's education or career.
In 2017, only six of the 53 African countries allowed abortion at the woman's request during the first trimester of pregnancy: Cape Verde, South Africa, Tunisia, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, as well as than Angola (during the 10 weeks gestation). Zambia, like Benin, takes socio-economic justifications into account in its abortion legislation.
Benin's new law will allow more women to have access to a safe abortion in case they are unwilling or unable to continue their pregnancy.
For example, a student who becomes pregnant and worries about having to drop out of school may request termination of her pregnancy in order to have a chance to complete her education. Previous studies showed that further education is a common rationale among girls and young women terminating their pregnancy.
The same goes for a woman with three or four children whom she has difficulty feeding and who feels that her current financial and material conditions do not allow her to welcome another.
The new law allows these women to have a safe abortion, instead of using unsafe or unsafe methods. at the risk of their life.
Why did Benin take this position?
I think Benin has taken this position mainly to protect and save the lives of women. It is also the result of a long period of advocacy.
As we can see pretty much everywhere in the world, laws do not necessarily prevent women from accessing abortion services. On the contrary, they will find a clandestine, potentially deadly alternative method. This is particularly the case for women who lack resources and whose economic situation is vulnerable. That is explained by the fact that women with more financial resources, a higher level of education and a strong network are more likely to access a safe abortion than those with fewer resources.
Although there has been no national abortion survey in the country - to assess the rate, cost and consequences of unsafe abortions - several studies have been able to highlight the burden and consequences of abortion. these abortions at the national level. The Ministry of Health valued that 15% of maternal deaths in the country are the result of unsafe abortion. And data on complications related to clandestine abortions and family planning practices show that unsafe abortions on an upward trend.
The ongoing ethnographic study that the Center for Research on Population and Health in Africa (where I work) leads in Benin in collaboration with Rutgers within the framework of the program “His health, his choices” arrives at the same conclusions, namely, that women and girls are desperate and come to break the law.
They risk death and stigma when they decide to terminate a pregnancy that threatens their lives and livelihoods. For example, casual workers - such as domestic workers and prostitutes - reported that unwanted pregnancies could interfere with their work activities. They were forced to stop working and therefore had no means of subsistence for themselves and their babies.
Through our work, we have seen how civil society organizations, health workers - such as gynecologists and midwives (who often meet women for medical consultation after unsafe abortion has gone awry) - and international and national NGOs such as (Beninese Association for the Promotion of the Family) are engaged in actions, often discreet and long-term, to promote and advocate rights.
They used their experience to get parliamentarians to recognize that pro-choice abortion laws will not encourage women to resort to abortion, but will instead save the lives of those who seek an abortion. whatever restrictions are in place.
Is this approach comparable with those of other countries in the sub-region?
Benin's approach is somewhat avant-garde in the Africa region. Benin goes beyond the Maputo Protocol, which has been the political objective for all states in the region, to:
protect the reproductive rights of women, particularly by authorizing safe abortion, in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest and when the pregnancy endangers the mental and physical health of the mother or the life of the mother or of the fetus.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been the most progressive country in the French-speaking region in announcing in the official journal their act of accession to the Maputo Protocol from 2018. DRC aside, all other countries are still in the advocacy process to implement, at the very least, the Maputo Protocol.
This development in Benin shows that African decision-makers are able and willing to draft laws that take into account women's reproductive health and rights.
What will be the effects of this decision?
This is a progressive step with regard to reproductive health and women's rights. Choosing to have an abortion has always been a difficult decision for women. In my experience, women generally consider termination of pregnancy to be a last resort. It is a very emotionally difficult experience which was made worse by legal restrictions.
This vote will have the effect of bringing comfort to women in their decision-making. It will give them access to public and private health services enabling a safe pregnancy to be terminated. By access, I mean in terms of cost and availability, covert procedures being known to be expensive. On the other hand, services will shift from anonymity to publicly accessible services in health facilities. In some cases, access to a safe abortion can avoid the serious consequences of an unsafe abortion.
It is important to note, however, that passing the law alone is not enough to ensure that women have access to safe abortion services. There is much to be done, including developing policies for the implementation of the law, in collaboration with health professionals to reduce the number of those who may refuse to offer such services on the basis of on the right to conscientious objection.
Ramatou Ouedraogo, Associate researcher, African Population and Health Research Center
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.