Abortion

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Summary

Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
1.Concept of Abortion.....................................................................................................................4
1.Legal conditions for abortion........................................................................................................5
2. Requirements for the performance of the abortion......................................................................5
3.Moral issues and the legalization of abortion...............................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction

Statistics reveal that unsafe abortion is one of the top 10 national causes of hospital admissions
for women. Data indicate that the maternal mortality rate due to abortion is about 11%. However,
given the existence of several clandestine abortion services, this percentage represents only the
"tip of the iceberg", somewhat hiding the seriousness of the problem.

Entitled Legalization of abortion: how is abortion treated by the law and what are the moral
aspects of the problem in Mozambique? this paper aims to analyze the legalization of abortion in
Mozambique, relating it to its moral implications. Its specific objectives are: i) to present the
conditions for abortion in Mozambique; ii) to explain the requirements for its performance and
iii) to reflect on the moral aspects related to the legalization of abortion. For the realization of
this essay, the bibliographic research method was used, a method that consists in the research of
bibliographic material related to the subject under discussion. The work is composed of three
main parts, obeying in order the specific objectives described above.

1.Concept of Abortion

According to the Priberam Dictionary (2021), abortion is the expulsion of a fetus or embryo by
fetal death, before the time and without conditions of vitality outside the maternal womb.
According to the same dictionary, abortion can be spontaneous or provoked. The legalization or
criminalization of abortion has not been consensual, especially on the African continent.

In its article 168, the Mozambican Penal Code refers to non-punishable abortion as one that is
"performed by a doctor or other qualified health professional, in an official health facility and
with the consent of the pregnant woman, when it is done in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.
In particular cases abortion is not punishable until 16 weeks of pregnancy (sexual violation,
incest) or until 24 weeks (in case of severe congenital malformation." Therefore, it can be stated
that from the legal point of view, abortion is allowed in Mozambique, this permission is
preceded by a prohibition dating from the late nineteenth century. However, it is worth

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mentioning that the performance of abortion is permeated by a set of conditions and
requirements. Let us see, below, each of these conditions and requirements.

2.Legal conditions for abortion

Although abortion is a permitted phenomenon in the country, it can only be performed under
certain conditions. Art.2 of Ministerial Diploma No. 60/2017 clarifies to us that pregnancy can
only be terminated in a Health Unit accredited and certified by a doctor or Health professional
trained for this purpose, under the conditions that:
(a) endangers the life of the woman;
b) puts the woman's physical health at risk
c) constitutes a risk to the woman's mental health;
d) results from sexual violence, including incest
e) results from failure of a modern method of contraception;
f) the woman is infected with HIV/AIDS
g) the pregnancy is unwanted in minors who are biologically, socially and psychologically
unprepared
h) it constitutes a risk to the health of the fetus;
i) the fetus has a congenital malformation;

The aspects presented above lead us to the conclusion that abortion in Mozambique has a
protocol. It is not only about terminating the pregnancy at will. The existence of this protocol
means, in our view, that the Mozambican State does not intend, by legalizing abortion, to open a
space for the practice of libertinism or for a festival of interruptions of pregnancies. On the
contrary, this opening aims to safeguard the physical and mental health of the most vulnerable
groups in society. Let us now look at the requirements for the performance of abortion.

3. Requirements for the performance of the abortion

The Article 3 of the mentioned ministerial diploma presents the following requirements for the
performance of the Abortion, respectively:

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a) Maximum gestational age of 12 weeks;
b) In case of chronic degenerative disease or congenital malformation, clinically proven, or by
infectious-contagious disease in the period referred to in No. 1, extended to 16 to 24 weeks;
c) Non-viable fetuses, whose termination of pregnancy may occur at any time of gestation;
d) Sexual assault or incest directly confirmed by the woman or girl, or proven through a
complaint or police report.

Art. 4 of the same law adds that:

1. Abortion can only be performed with the informed consent of the pregnant woman, except
when the woman is not capable of giving this consent;
2. In the case of a minor, Abortion can only take place at the request and with the consent of the
parents, guardians, legal representative, or another person who is recognized as having legal
custody of the pregnant woman, when the natural or legal guardian cannot be found or refuses to
give consent, or by another adult person, even if without legal responsibility, but who acts as
confidant;
[...]
4. Consent for termination of pregnancy should be expressed in written form;
5. In cases where consent must be provided by the pregnant woman who cannot sign, it may be
provided, using the appropriate means applicable for similar situations;
6. The consent of the pregnant woman shall be waived when she is not in a condition to do so.

In summary, it can be said that the realization of abortion has social and clinical requirement
aspects. Let us see, after this brief analysis of what the law says about abortion, the ethical and
moral aspects that permeate this social phenomenon.

3.Moral issues and the legalization of abortion

The purpose of this section is to discuss the moral issues surrounding the legalization of
abortion. First, it is important to mention that morality is a set of rules, principles, norms that

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regulate the life of a certain society or community in a certain period of time and space. Having
sexual relations after marriage is a moral rule in some Christian communities, to make lobolo is
one of the moral rules in some African communities. Therefore, morality can be social or even
religious, and is usually linked to a certain context or society. Having made these considerations,
we must ask how the legalization of abortion relates to the various social manifestations of
morality.

Before addressing the relationship of the legalization of abortion to issues of morality at the level
of social or religious morality, it is worth noting that in the law itself there is an observance of
ethical-moral issues. Article 5 of Ministerial Diploma No. 60/2017 addresses the issue of
conscientious objection. According to this article:
1.The physician or competent Health professional who has conscientious objections against the
termination of pregnancy is not obliged to perform it, except when necessary to prevent the risk
of death of the pregnant woman, saving the woman's life or preventing serious risks or damage to
the pregnant woman's health;
2. The right to conscientious objection may be exercised by any physician or Health Care
professional trained to provide pregnancy termination services;
3. The physician or competent Health Care Professional who has conscientious objection against
termination of pregnancy shall refer, to the pregnant woman, another physician or competent
Health Care Professional who is willing to perform termination of pregnancy;
[…]

From the above points, we can understand that the law is linked to a given ethics. Beside of that,
we can understand that there is a need to safeguard the mental health and moral conscience of
doctors. Thus, if the doctor belongs to a moral that abhors abortion, he has the right, as we have
seen, to make a conscientious objection, except in the cases described above. From these
considerations, we can understand that the law seeks, at the very least, not to clash with the
morality of the health care provider.

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At the level of society, the legalization of abortion hurts with some principles of certain groups,
especially the religious ones. Many religious people consider this practice abominable because it
hurts a basic principle of religion: the gift of life.

In our view, this view of religious communities, although it is fair from the point of view of the
religion itself, sins by being general and by not taking into account the various particularities and
contexts that mark the occurrence of pregnancy itself. In other words, there are cases (incest,
rape, violations, health complications, etc.) in which this principle cannot be taken absolutely.

We believe that the absolute abomination of this practice by religion contributes to the
perpetuation of clandestine abortions, which end up putting the lives of many women at risk.
This abomination makes women, especially young women, ashamed to openly express their
desire to have an abortion, given the abomination of this phenomenon by religion itself.
Therefore, we believe that there is a need to find a middle ground in the resolution of this social
problem. This middle ground will aim to preserve the lives of women and, at the same time,
religious principles.

Conclusion

In view of the aspects presented in this paper, it can be said that from a legal point of view
abortion is a legalized phenomenon in Mozambique, but its performance has to obey a set of
conditions and requirements. It is not a legalization that opens space for the practice of
libertinism and immorality.
It is also worth mentioning that the practice of abortion has moral and religious implications in
the patient as well as in the doctor, so no doctor should perform the abortion without the consent
of the pregnant woman and no doctor must be forced to perform the abortion if this practice hurts
with their moral principles.

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References
"aborto", in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa [em linha], 2008-
2021, https://dicionario.priberam.org/aborto [consultado em 16-11-2021].

Lei n.º 24/2019, de 24 de Dezembro, Lei que aprova o Código Penal.

Ministério da Saúde. Diploma Ministerial n.º 60/2017 de 20 de Setembro.