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October 4, 2007
The second house of the South African parliament approved -- for the second time -- legislation that would improve access to safe abortion care for women.
Panos Pictures

In a victory for women’s rights to make decisions about their own bodies, South Africa’s second house of parliament, the National Council of Provinces, has again adopted the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP) Amendment Bill without making any changes. This comes after the South African chapter of the anti-choice organization Doctors for Life succeeded in convincing the country’s Constitutional Court that parliament had not adhered to public consultation criteria when it first promulgated the bill in 2004. 

The bill amended the original CTOP Act No. 92 of 1996 (legalizing abortion) to ensure widespread availability of abortion services. As a result of the Constitutional Court’s finding, all nine provincial legislatures in South Africa held public hearings where individuals and organizations could present their views on the CTOP Amendment Bill during August this year. Ipas South Africa Country Director Mosotho Gabriel also submitted testimony at the hearings, reminding politicians that the substance of the original CTOP Act was not in question and that the Doctors for Life (DFL) challenge nearly a decade later was part of a broader anti-choice strategy to undermine legal abortion. The government’s national department of health made a similar statement when the court’s decision became public.

Despite this, the anti-choice lobby used the public hearings as an opportunity to haul out an array of arguments attacking the CTOP Act itself. Witnesses disputed requirements around the age of consent, poor counselling services and rules for conscientious objection by service providers. At the Western Cape public hearing, an anti-choice proponent suggested that women be forced to look at images of live and aborted fetuses before abortions are performed. Activist Melanie Judge has since identified the members of the anti-choice lobby as the same individuals who opposed the adoption of the same-sex marriage legislation in 2006.

On September 18, three years after the amendment bill was passed the first time, the Select Committee on Social Services of the second house of parliament (the National Council of Provinces) met in Cape Town to deliberate on the amendment law again. The committee received mandates from eight of the nine legislatures (sufficient for a final vote). These provinces were: Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Limpopo, KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga, North West and Free State. All eight instructed their committee representatives to vote in favor of the amendment law as written.

Three of the eight provincial legislatures did raise concerns in their reports, however. The provincial legislature of Limpopo, a predominantly rural province, reported that some participants in the public hearings felt that abortion was “against cultural beliefs” and that it promoted “ill-discipline, immorality and prostitution among young girls,” among other claims. The Limpopo legislature recommended that service providers who object to termination of pregnancy (TOP) be excluded from TOP training.

The report from the North West provincial legislature stressed the importance of abortions being performed at adequately equipped facilities by trained staff. Traditional healers should not be allowed to perform abortions as they would not be able to address complications, should they arise. The legislature recommended that abortions for girls under the age of 18 only be performed with parental consent. The legislature reiterated that it supported the essence of the law.

The Western Cape legislature recommended that more support be made available to service providers who perform abortions as well as those who object to performing abortions. Community involvement in “this area of health” should be promoted, according to the legislature. Finally, the legislature also recommended that a clear distinction be drawn between medication and surgical abortion in the regulations to the act. The Western Cape representatives supported the essence of the bill.

During debate, the committee discussed the issue of further amendments to the bill. The KwaZulu Natal delegation emphasized that any amendments should not tamper with the essential elements of the bill. Similarly, the Western Cape and North West also emphasised that the substance of the bill remain intact. The bill was adopted unanimously.

On September 19, the National Council of Provinces approved the bill. During the debate, Faith Mazibuko from the African National Congress criticised Doctors for Life for failing to understand that the bill was aimed at preventing backstreet abortions. From here, the bill has to pass through the National Assembly (the first house of parliament) and then be submitted to President Thabo Mbeki for assent.

According to news reports, anti-choice organizations are considering whether to take the government to court again to contest the second public hearing process. 

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258