New Times readers reaction to the abortion debate

Editor, Abortion is truly the silent murder of two people ......no ......make that three people: The unborn child: who represents a future violently killed. If we are serious about protecting the basic human rights of every citizen -- then we must cover every vulnerable cadre in the society -- especially those who cannot speak up for themselves when threatened with deliberate extermination. The mother: who dies quietly for the rest of her life because of the unspoken guilt of her decision. Abortion is like closing the door after the horse has already bolted. The crime scene may be sanitized -- but the psychological scars linger forever.The unknowing father: who loses his DNA material which is worth much more than gold. Men need to be more careful about their reproductive capacity. College and high school girls facing “unwanted pregnancies” are the minority percentage of women seeking abortions. The clear majority are usually married women -- a factor that nobody is willing to address loudly (or expose) because of the negative socio-political consequences in a strongly patriarchal society like Rwanda. Legalised abortion permits married women to play the field just like their male counterparts without ever getting caught. May I humbly suggest the legalisation of the Gikuyu dating institution (Ngweko) where the grandmother or aunt would firmly knot a girl’s leather skirt before she visited her boyfriend. Untying or tampering with this knot were grounds to dismiss the boyfriend as a worthless man with no self-control. The boyfriend had to bring a goat to the offended family as an apology for his “goatish” conduct. A woman whose leather skirt remained firmly knotted until her wedding day commanded a hefty dowry (forty cows and forty goats and a beehive full of live bees). Giving high value to your sexuality (in that manner) is the true management of one’s reproductive rights. Maringa, Margaret” Margaret.Maringa@carefirst.com Editor, I read with great interest the debate between Sunny Ntayombya and Collins Haba on whether abortion should be legalized and I am pleased that such an issue is finally being debated in public. However I believe Mr Ntayombya’s arguments were more convincing on this matter and I believe that abortion should be legal under certain strict conditions… Abortion is of course a very serious issue, so I believe that drawing parallels between women who abort their babies and murderers as Mr Haba did, was in bad taste. Such tactics devalue the complexity of the debate and ignore the very difficult choices that many expectant mothers may have to make. We have to acknowledge that distasteful as it may be, there are cases where it is a better outcome for the mother. However whatever our lawmakers decide, we have to ensure that this debate is carried out with decorum and restraint on both sides. Those who are pro-choice should not be stigmatized as murderers or immoral. Turiyo Damasceneturiyod@yahoo.com

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New Times readers reaction to the abortion debate