Editor,I read, in this newspaper, last Saturday, a story in which it was reported that 60,000 women undergo abortion every year in Rwanda. The figure has since sparked an interesting debate.Personally, I believe that for health reasons, a woman should have the absolute right to terminate a pregnancy. The same should apply when rights have been grossly violated, such as in the case of rape or incest. Indeed, as The New Times columnists Joseph Rwagatare stated on Tuesday, women’s rights should not be undermined by those he referred to as “pious old men” who seek to impose their will on the suffering mothers and sisters. I couldn’t agree more with Joseph more. Muhamud Tanga Editor,You can be assured that if Rwanda was to hold a referendum on the issue of abortion, the majority of mothers and sisters would vote against the law legalizing abortion. I wish The4 New Times’ columnist Oscar Kabatende had expounded further on the implications of criminalising or/and legalizing abortion (in his opinion last Tuesday).Normally, it is the outcome that matters not the use of one or the other English word. Will decriminalization/legalization of abortion help fight HIV/Aids among Rwandans. Perhaps our legislators need more scientific explanation on how the unborn baby is killed in the process of performing an abortion.In my view, lawmakers should enact a law that obliges the biological father to support the mother and the innocent child instead of jumping to ease abortion. The current law is frankly unfair to women and the child born out of wedlock [leave alone the unborn one]. If men become responsible [or forced to be] there will be less unwanted pregnancies, less abortions, less HIV transmission, less people in prison, but more rights to the woman and the child.Efraim Kigali, Rwanda
