Kalomo T Panduleni
The legalisation of abortion is a heated argument that has been going on for a reasonable amount of time now. Some scholars believe that legalising abortion will lead to Christian immorality and will destroy the whole Namibian youth at large. Honestly speaking nothing is one sided thus, in this instance legalising abortion will be best for many in a nutshell.
Having to bear in mind that even during these times when abortion is not legalised, people still do it behind closed doors making it a fatal practice.
By default, one fifth of Namibia’s expectant mothers’ population abort their babies annually even though there are measures put in place to fight against it, they are not effective. Therefore, legalising abortion will not only sooth the whole process but it will also help us to avoid socio-economic problems such as baby dumping.
On average about 200 teenagers get pregnant year in and year out, some are forced to then quit school and eventually dropout. That brings nothing but rise in unemployment rate and illiteracy rates.
In addition, financial constraints also play a major role in considering the legalisation of abortion.
Most teenagers are faced with the problem of becoming single parents since not all their partners are willing to take up the responsibility to parent their off springs. One may ask, “Why become sexually active if you are not ready to parent a child?”
Well, the answer is quite obvious. There are certain things that we tend to over-look. The availability of good parenting, sexual education and means of survival are far most some of the reasons why the Namibian young women tend to become sexually active and not forgetting peer-pressure as well. Furthermore, Namibia is one of the countries that have a lot of resources such as, gold and uranium to mention a few but unluckily, it does not have the necessary means to use them to yield millions of dollars.
Hence, it cannot ensure the wellbeing of all its citizens if the population is to reach five billion.
If the call to legalise abortion is not answered, we will continue to have increase in baby dumping and risking the lives of those who practice it, thereby increasing crimes and social cost for the government.