What SA can tell US about rights
Anniversary of abortion law worth celebrating as empowering women — and the nation, writes Bronwyn Nortje
Across the Atlantic, where most of the world’s media attention is focused, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, issued a travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries, and held hands with UK Prime Minister Theresa May. And that is just the highlights reel. In this hurricane of news, it is unfortunate that an anniversary of a quietly revolutionary act has gone by largely unnoticed. Twenty years ago on February 1, the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act (1996) came into effect in SA. Hailed as one of the most liberal abortion laws in the world, the act allows all women access to medical abortions — at their request and irrespective of their age — up to the 12th week of pregnancy. To say that this single act has done more for women’s social and economic development in SA than any other act would not be an understatement. Yet it is alarming that while South Africans can celebrate 20 years of access to safe and legal abortio...
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