Should abortion be legal or illegal in Tanzania?

Kwa bahati mbaya katiba ya Tanzania haijaonyesha ni wakati gani right to life inaanza lakini kwa maoni yangu iruhusiwe ikiwa tu mimba inaweza sababisha madhara kwa mama.

Hivi jamani.. Isn't there a hospital in Tanzania which performs abortion?
And it is the only centre allowed to carry out those procedures..

RONNIE-RUA said:

Its so sad coz i lost a relative about three weeks ago who attemped to abort. It should remain illegal but the society should be made aware of the consequences and thus if one is impregnated, they should accept it na wasimrukie na kumpresha atoe mimba.

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I am very sorry to hear what happened to your relative. After reading what Buyaka says and after searching for relevant information regarding the issue, I have confirmed that abortion is indeed illegal in Tanzania. However, we have to note that making it illegal doesn't really address the real issue for at least two reasons.

First, when the law was passed the parliament was dominated by males, and didn't take into consideration the input of primary stake-holders, women. Today, the number of women in the parliament and various positions in the society is somehow better, and it will make sense if we revisit the issue and get their input.

Second, social dynamics and norms have changed significantly since 80s. For example, today's parents, to some extent, tolerate some sorts of romantic relationship between boys and girls. This was a taboo and unthinkable back then.

So it will be in the best interests of the nation if we raise a national debate on the issue. We can’t just sit around and say it’s illegal.

Michael Pima said:

Bado si vibaya kutumia Kiswahili kama una mashaka na lugha ya Kiingereza. Binafsi nadhani kuna sababu mahsusi ambazo zinaweza kutumika kuruhusu mwanamke kutoa mimba. Sababu hizo ni kama vile za kiafya na uhatarishaji wa afya ya mama kwa ujumla. Tofauti na hapo sidhani kama ni vyema kutoa mimba kwa misingi mingineyo kama hofu ya matunzo ya mtoto, hofu ya masomo n.k.

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I practise the language, and the best approach is to use it. Anyway, I know a girl who performed abortion when she was form two. Since she comes from a well to do family, the abortion was performed in a reputable hospital in the country using the best experts the country could offer and state of the art equipments. She was very fine in a matter of a week.

I also know three girls who perfomed abortions using dangerous local procedures because they couldn't afford to hire good doctors for the work. One lost her life, the other two struggled to recover for six months or a year.

I am not saying that abortion should be legal. But I believe that unwanted pregnancy is part of women health, and we need to address that using legal framework.

We have to supports safe abortion on two grounds.

First, it is a right. Women have the right to reproductive health choices.

Second, it is necessary. 20% of pregnancies globally end in induced abortion; unsafe abortion accounts for 13% of all maternal deaths and the hospitalization of a further five million women every year due to serious health complications.

This preventable mortality and ill-health due to unsafe abortion is seriously undermining countries' ability to achieve development (to improve maternal health) and places a high burden on already over-stretched health systems. But but the state should not legalize abortion as a method of family planning. In countries where it is legal, the state will support programs that make safe abortion more accessible.

In countries where it is illegal and mortality and morbidity is high, the state will make the consequences of unsafe abortion more widely understood, and will consider supporting processes of legal and policy reform. therefore a country is to think about the effect of criminalizing abortion.

There must be measure to taken to avoid the death of women which happen because of unsafe abortion. and one of the measure is to legalize it so as those who like to do such act had free access to hospital and have safe abortion. the law tend to give right to an individual in neglecting the moral of the other.

Hence one can not force every heat of an individual to beat is ordinary fashion.

When it comes to the question of life, the mother's life is not superior to the unborn child's life.

They all equally deserve due respect of their dignity and protection of their rights. By so saying, neither the mother should be allowed or forced to die in order to rescue the child neither should the child be forced or allowed to die in order to rescue the mother. When necessity arises of hard decision, the principle of "double effect" should be obeyed.

With that, it is beyond the limits of the law to legalize killing of the unborn child under the umbrella of "Legal abortion". Abortion per se is killing and killing cant be legalized but it can be tolerated if it happens under circumstances beyond control. The Tanzanian constitution respects "The right to life of every person" ref Article 14. (Act No. 15 of 1984 art.6).

Again, the Penal code under sections 150, 151, 152, and 199 specifies penalties to those attempting to procure abortion, procuring miscarriage, supplying drugs or instruments to procure abortion and to those convicted for infanticide in certain cases respectively. Conclusively, up to the moment abortion is illegal in Tanzania and it should be so always. legalizing it is being inhuman and any law which contradicts our humanity is not worthy of being enacted and obeyed.

Kwa uelewa wangu nafikiri kuna abortion ambazo ni legal na pia ambazo ni illegal, zile ambazo ni illegal ni zile ambazo msichana au mwanamke anafanya abortion kwasababu ya kutohitaji mtoto, hana sababu ya maana zaidi ya kukatisha maisha ya mtoto kwa sababu zake binafsi

Legal ni ile mwanamke anapoamua kutoa mimba kutokana na matatizo ya kiafya kwa mama au mtoto mfano mimba inapokuwa ni tatizo kwa mama daktari anaweza kumshauri mama kutoa mimba au pale mtoto anapogundulika kuwa na matatizo fulani kabla ya kuzaliwa na kuwa hatoweza kuishi kutokana na tatizo fulani

General rule abortion is not legal in Tanzania. Maybe there should be exception of it in case of rape the victim should be allowed to abort hope understand

In UK it has been Legalized and fixed to the defence of necessity. Once you are in a bad position to raise up ya child you might be allowed to abort. They say its fine to do a lesser evil of aborting instead of committing a greater evil to raise up a child bila matunzo hahahaha.

double R

Let's not take things for granted. Abortion is not as simple as those activists claiming, you are considering mothers emotion more than life of the unborn child jamani!!

Inasikitisha sana

DEO MAFURU said:

Let's not take things for granted. Abortion is not as simple as those activists claiming, you are considering mothers emotion more than life of the unborn child jamani!! Inasikitisha sana

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The life of unborn child depends on the mother's situation. Bringing a child to a mother who did not want it, is horrible to the baby.

double R said:

The life of unborn child depends on the mother's situation. Bringing a child to a mother who did not want it, is horrible to the baby.

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It is not an issue of what she wants or what she doesn't want but what is right for the moment, because as you know most of us do many things even if we don't want, after all if a mother doesn't want a child but she has already Conceived then she has to choose give out a baby and we will find other means of taking care of the baby

I think abortion should remain illegal in Tanzania, making it legal will cause a number of child mortality

Mzuvendi, Abortion should'nt be legalized. How can you legalize something illegal? Illegal will always remain illegal. If abortion will be legalized, murder too should be legalized as abortion is the same as murdering.

Kwa mtazamo wangu ikiruhusiwa itakuwa ndio kichochezi cha ngono hasa kwa wanafunzi, yaani kwa maneno mengine ni kuhalalisha ngono because kama kutoa ni halali kwa nini kufanya iwe kosa.

Mzuvendi, Kama mimba haijaruhusiwa na daktari itolewe na ikatolewa nilazima sheria ifuate mkondo wake kwani mhusika atakuwa kaua kwa kukusudia

Blue G said:

Abortion should'nt be legalized. How can you legalize something illegal? Illegal will always remain illegal. If abortion will be legalized, murder too should be legalized as abortion is the same as murdering.

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Excellent I like that, your statement should be considered to become a rule

Mzuvendi, If rising the baby was too expensive and auwful to girls and women, why making unsafe sex and demand for the right to abortion, this is so crazy

Rajjy mo said:

Kwa bahati mbaya katiba ya Tanzania haijaonyesha ni wakati gani right to life inaanza lakini kwa maoni yangu iruhusiwe ikiwa tu mimba inaweza sababisha madhara kwa mama

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Kweli kabisa na iwe hivyo

Mimi naona iruhusiwe kwasababu itasaidia kupunguza vifo kwa ajili ya abortion maana watu hutumia njia za siri na zisizo salama ambayo hupelekea vifo lakini ingekuwa legal na done at hospital by specialist ingekuwa vizuri