Health committee rejects bill making it harder to get safe abortions

Parliament’s health portfolio committee has rejected African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) MP Cherylln Dudley’s private member’s bill on abortion, saying her proposals would make it harder for women to safely end unwanted pregnancies.It said her proposed amendments to the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act were prohibitively expensive and that there was no evidence they would enhance the provision of care."The committee believes that the bill is not desirable at this stage. The committee is also of the opinion that greater education and awareness campaigns, as well as prevention programmes, are needed to ensure women are equipped with the necessary information to make informed decisions concerning their reproductive health and rights," it said in its report on the bill.Dudley’s bill was tabled in Parliament in December. It proposes showing women ultrasound images of their foetuses before all abortions, mandatory counseling before and after abortions, and introduces a require...