By:Hertha Ekandjo
Representative of the Christian Coalition of Churches in Namibia, Stewarn Horn says that from a tax perspective, if abortion is legalised the taxpayers will carry the burden.
Horn said the reason is that abortion will be executed or done at state hospitals and the cost would be on taxpayers’ pockets.
He said this on Sunday during a public hearing on abortion by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Gender Equality, Social Development and Family Affairs held in Windhoekl.
Namibia is currently operating under the Abortion and Sterilisation Act of South Africa (1975) which was developed, and inherited during the apartheid era.
In 2021, the Standing Committee began holding public hearings with various individuals regarding abortion on demand, following the submission of two petitions, one pro-choice and the other pro-life.
This is the final round of discussions set to take place on the matter.
According to medical professional, Dr David Emvula, 7,000 unsafe abortions were recorded in one year.
Analytical reports show that in Namibia between 2015–2019, there were a total of 103,000 pregnancies annually. Of these, 66,300 pregnancies were unintended and 18,600 ended in abortion.
Meanwhile, Horn further argued that legalising abortion on demand will not solve any of the problems that make people turn to abortion.
He said the socio-economic conditions that make women vulnerable should be prioritised to improve the living conditions of pregnant women.
“On social economic conditions, people say that if a school going girl falls pregnant their education gets interrupted and that is not true. There is a school learner pregnancy policy which allows learners who fall pregnant to continue with school during pregnancy,” Horn said.
“Legalising abortion on demand will not make men responsible or restore broken relationships. Government should provide a way to deal with broken relationships and paternal denial.”
Earlier this month, Minister in the Presidency Christine //Hoebes called for paternity testing to be mandatory.
She argued that this would solve the ongoing trend of fathers denying financial aid to their children.
“This has resulted in some children growing up under the care of guardians or single parents while not knowing their true identity because they are left to ponder who their mother or father is,” the Minister //Hoebes said.