Wednesday April 16, 2003

NEPAL DEBATES OLD ABORTION CHARGES FOLLOWING LEGALIZATION

KATMANDU, April 16, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Nepalese authorities are debating what to do with at least 50 women currently jailed on abortion-related charges, after the government passed a liberal abortion law last September.

The law says women can abort a pregnancy under 12 weeks gestation and at 18 weeks in cases of rape or incest. However, as is typical of liberal abortion laws masking as "restricted" laws, a doctor can also authorize an abortion after 18 weeks if the pregnancy would allegedly be "detrimental to the health of the mother" or if a diagnosis finds that the child could be born with a disability. As in Western societies, the "health" of the mother is open to extremely open-ended interpretation by pro-abortion doctors.

Pro-abortionists complain that the law has no provision to exonerate the 50 women retroactively, and so their fate remains to be determined by Nepalese courts and legislators.

(with files from Pro-Life E-News)

For local coverage:
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishweekly/spotlight/2003/apr/apr11/national2.htm

For previous LifeSite coverage:
NEPALI KING FIRES ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS A WEEK AFTER LEGALIZING ABORTION
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2002/oct/02101104.html

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/apr/03041607.html

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