The ACDP has consistently opposed abortion legislation that in our view amounts to the murder of innocent pre-born babies. The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act (the CTOP Act No. 92 of 1996) was passed by Parliament on 31 October, 1996, despite widespread opposition, and came into effect on 1 February, 1997. It is estimated that in the twenty-nine years since 1997 over 2 million babies have been legally aborted in South Africa, mostly funded by the state. This is more than the number of deaths from crime and road accidents in the country over this period.
The ACDP has over the years introduced various private members bills to either stop or reduce the impact of abortion – including the Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Bill, 2006 (the Right to Life of the Unborn Child) and the Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Bill (B34-2017), both tabled by Ms. Cheryllyn Dudley MP.
The Constitution Amendment Bill sought to amend sections 11 and 28 of the Constitution to ensure reasonable protection of the right to life of the unborn child. The second Amendment Bill included provisions relating to compulsory counselling by social workers and mandatory ultrasounds for every pregnant woman considering an abortion, and the deletion of the provision allowing abortion after 20 weeks, if there is a risk of injury to the foetus. Regrettably, both Bills were not supported by the ANC in Parliament.
We also opposed provisions in the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act 32 of 2024, that would enforce the learner pregnancy policy through regulations which, when read with the CTOP Act, allows learners access to abortions, shockingly without parental consent. In our view, besides undermining parental rights, this allows male predators (mostly teachers and so-called “blessers”) to avoid the consequences of their actions, such as statutory rape charges and claims for maintenance. This, whilst the learner may have to face the physical, psychological and emotional trauma of an abortion, possibly without her parents even having any knowledge of this procedure. Should there be a complication with the abortion procedure, and a further surgical procedure is required, this would then require parental consent – showing how ludicrous the statutory provisions are. They must be reviewed and repealed.
We commend those crisis pregnancy centres that offer counselling and adoption services to pregnant girls and women who often consider having abortions due to extreme socio-economic conditions, given the physical, psychological and emotional trauma experienced by many girls and women who choose to abort their babies.
We commend Africa Christian Action (ACA) who will be holding the March for Life to Parliament in Cape Town today to remember the millions of lives lost through abortion. ACA has been organising this march for the past 29 years calling the nation to repent for the sin of abortion.
The ACDP will be placing the abortion issue on its agenda for this year, demanding that the GNU and Parliament reconsider legislation and policies permitting the wholesale killing of pre-born babies – a staggering estimated two million babies to date.
Proverbs 31:8, “ Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.”
