June 13, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Legislators of the island nation of Mauritius have voted overwhelmingly to legalize the killing of unborn children under certain circumstances, following years of pressure from feminist bureaucrats at the United Nations as well as pro-abortion “human rights” groups.
According to the French magazine Le Figaro, the Parliament of Mauritius has voted to permit abortions before the fourteenth week of pregnancy, if the unborn child has an “important” handicap, or if he was conceived through rape or incest. Abortions will also be permitted if the mother is under sixteen, or if the life of the mother is in danger.
Although reports do not specify if the nation’s interim president, Monique Ohsan Bellepeau, has signed the legislation into law, the cabinet of ministers already approved it in late 2011. It has also been endorsed by the country’s prime minister, Navin Chandra Ramgoolam.
During the vote, in which the law was approved 50-14, pro-life demonstrators from the Maurcian Solidarity Front were arrested outside of the parliament building, where it is illegal to hold protests while the legislature is in session, according to the Chinese news service Xinhua.
“The protest is peaceful. It’s a march to say ‘no’ to the bill. We have the right to march. We are in a democratic country,” one protester told Xinhua.
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The vote came after years of pressure from the United Nations’ Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the pro-abortion “human rights” organization, Amnesty International. The latter has claimed that refusing to allow abortions is tantamount to “torture.” A coalition of Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist groups fought the bill, but to no avail.
The island of Mauritius, under its laws prohibiting abortions, has boasted the lowest maternal mortality rate in all of Africa, undermining claims that abortions protect the health of mothers.