The parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Affairs has started debate on a seven-year-old Bill that seeks to regulate reproductive health in the country.

Tabled before Parliament in 2008 as a private members’ Bill, the draft law seeks to govern reproductive health by determining the rights and obligations of every Rwandan and duties of the government in relation to reproductive health.

The draft legislation mainly details people’s obligation and right to choose the number of children they want to have, the right to access reproductive health services such as birth control pills, condoms, safe delivery of babies, and children’s sex education, among others.

Enactment of the law was delayed because legislators in both chambers of Parliament could not agree on whether such a law is needed in the country, with most debates about the Bill calling for further consultations about it.

But, at Tuesday’s meeting, members of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs in the Lower House resolved to fast-track consultations with all stakeholders about fine-tuning the content of the draft legislation.

"It is our obligation to fast-track this law. Invitations will be sent to other stakeholders concerned with reproductive health so they can give us their ideas,” said MP Alphonsine Mukarugema, the deputy chairperson of the committee.

Those who have opposed the passing of the law have argued that it looks more like instructions about reproductive health and it doesn’t provide for sanctions in case people fail to implement what it is asking them to do.

Moreover, some legislators have castigated the Bill for failing to precise the limits on the number of children a family should have and don’t see the reason why it should be enacted into law if it still leaves the number of children to have as a private matter.

"I don’t see the point in having this law. When you look at the Bill, it doesn’t bring anything new. It talks about things that are already regulated. It doesn’t impose any restrictions on people’s ordinary way of life,” said MP Gaston Rusiha, a member of the committee.

But those who are pushing for enacting the law say it would help emphasise the need for family planning and access to reproduction health services.

"The idea behind the law is to draw attention to the fact that people should be more responsible about their reproductive health,” said MP Juvenal Nkusi, one of seven legislators who initiated the Bill eight years ago.

Many of the provisions in the law are already taken for granted by Rwandans, from the right to access reproductive health services, the right to choose the number of children that families can have, and the obligation of public health facilities to treat victims of gender-based violence.

But some legislators insist that a law is still needed to emphasise the rights of people to access reproductive health services and for the government to ensure that the services are provided.

"We should consider this law because we wouldn’t be the only country that has such a legislation. It’s important for our country to have the law,” said MP Anitha Mutesi.

Consultations about the Reproductive Health Bill are likely to draw in stakeholders at different levels, including both officials and experts at the Ministry of Health and that of Local Government, legislators said.

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