By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The Protestant Council of Rwanda has directed its members operating various health centres in the country to stop carrying out any forms of abortion but instead asks them to refer clients to other health facilities.
This will further limit access to procurement of abortion in the Christian-dominated nation of 13 million people.
The council had in its decision earlier in the month described abortion as a sin, a position the dominant Catholic Church has since expressed.
Their positions however contradict the East African country’s law which permits abortions for specific reasons.
In a statement on Monday signed by 26 Protestant religious organizations, they called on parents to “guide” their daughters to seek abstinence until marriage.
Abortion previously was illegal in Rwanda, with a prison sentence for anyone who had an abortion or helped in terminating a pregnancy.
The law was however changed in 2018 to say abortion is allowed in cases such as rape, forced marriage, incest or cases where pregnancy poses a health risk. The law also requires that abortions be carried out only after consultations with a doctor.
“For us, we have our belief, and our belief cannot be taken away by the law. We are not opposing the law, but our belief does not allow us to support abortion,” Laurent Mbanda, the head of the Anglican Church in Rwanda, told AP.
He said the best way the council’s member health facilities can handle abortion cases is to make referrals to other hospitals.
The decision affects about 10% of Rwanda’s largest health facilities. The Catholic church owns 30% of the country’s health centers, most of them in rural areas, Cardinal Antoine Kambanda, the head of the church in Rwanda said.
Rwanda’s government views the Protestant Council’s decision on the sensitive matter as “undesirable,” an official from Rwanda’s health ministry told the AP. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Some human rights groups urged the Protestant Council to reconsider.
“The Protestant church stance is likely to alienate their followers and (make them) seek other alternatives like unsafe abortions that can risk the woman and can cause death. It is better to allow women to seek these services in their hospitals to save life,” said Aflodis Kagaba, executive director of Health Development Initiative.
