Advertisement

Malawi’s Religious Leaders Contest Proposed Abortion Law, Threaten Unspecified Action

Some Religious leaders in Malawi after a meeting with former President Arthur Peter Mutharika.

Religious leaders in the Southeastern African nation of Malawi are contesting attempts by the country’s legislators to amend the law and legalize abortion, which they say is “genocide of unborn babies in Malawi.”

In a collective statement, the religious leaders indicate that if their contestation is ignored, they would call for unspecified “cause of action.”

“We condemn the proposed bill, which seeks to introduce direct abortions because it is gravely sinful. Life must be safeguarded with extreme care from conception; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes,” the religious leaders say in their statement read out Monday, September 14 at a press conference.

They add, "We, the religious mother bodies in the country, would like to reiterate our position that we celebrate, protect and defend life and the dignity of the human person.”

“Human life is a fundamental value because God created human being in His own image and likeness, male and female He created them,” the religious leaders further say in their collective statement read out by the President of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), Archbishop Anthony Msusa.

Advertisement

The faith-based leaders call on Malawians “to stand up for the life of all people, including the unborn child.”

They note that this is the second time the proposed abortion legislation is set to be tabled in the country’s legislature, after they thwarted a previous attempt through nationwide protests on December 6, 2016 dubbed, “March for Life and Family.”

“Our members of Parliament should reject any proposal to amend the current laws on abortion as they adequately protect both the mother and the unborn child,” the religious leaders appeal, adding that such a law would not protect the unborn child.

The proposed amendment, they add, “does not protect the life of the unborn child. The current law protects both the child and mother.”

“But if they don’t really listen to what we are saying, we will call for another cause of action. Whether it will be the same as what we did in 2016 or another way of doing things, until what God calls us for, should be listened,” the religious leaders say.

More in Africa

They also challenge the government, private sector and other stakeholders to collaborate in order “to improve health facilities in our existing hospitals and health facilities, especially in rural parts of this country.”

Improved health facilities, they note, will ensure adequate handling of “major health complications, including maternal-related cases for girls and women,” which they described as “a serious challenge." 

Other religious bodies that are signatories to the September 14 statement besides ECM include Malawi Council of Churches (MCC), Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) and Quadria Muslim Association of Malawi (QMAM).