How can Zimbabwe allow abortion when it has just abolished the death penalty- MP

They have given exceptions for cases of rape victims, medical reasons and incest, among others. The Ministry of Health and Child Care has a mandate to preserve life and not to take it. The role of the Ministry of Health is to save lives. While reproductive health services are important, they must never come at the cost of human life.  Enabling termination of pregnancy as a solution to social problems risks turning our health institutions into centers of death rather than life. We acknowledge that criminalisation alone does not deter unsafe abortions, but the answer lies not in legalising abortion but in addressing the root causes – lack of education, poverty, sexual violence and weak support systems. Let us strengthen maternal health care and support women through difficult pregnancies.

As Zimbabweans, our identity is steeped in the values of ubuntu, I am because we are. Our Shona, Ndebele and other African cultures celebrate life as sacred from conception. In Shona traditions, pregnancy is a communal joy, celebrated and protected. A woman who carries life is revered, not dismissed or encouraged to discard her unborn child. The Pan-African Charter on Human and People’s Rights calls on us to protect the moral and cultural values of our communities. Legalising abortion risks eroding our values, traditions and identity as Africans. Even the current President of the United States Donald Trump, despite the many criticisms he faces, is known for his pro-life stance.

He appointed judges who overturned Roe vs. Wade, reversing the legalisation of abortion in the United States after nearly 50 years. If even Trump can stand for life, can we not do the same for Zimbabwe?  Pro-life is pro-woman. We cannot elevate one’s life at the expense of another.  The life of an unborn child is just as valuable as the life of the woman who carries it.

Psalm 139 verses, 13-14 declares, for you created my innermost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. In my mother’s womb, not outside my mother’s womb. As women, we know the trauma that an unplanned pregnancy can bring but abortion leaves lasting scars, both physical and emotional. Studies published in the British Journal of Psychiatry reveal increased rates of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and even suicide among women who have had abortions. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has already taken progressive steps by allowing pregnant schoolgirls to remain in school, ensuring that they do not lose their future because of pregnancy.

Statutory Instrument 13 of 2025 mandates psycho-social support and ongoing education for these girls. Let us continue to support and not to destroy. Zimbabwe, Mr. President, is a predominantly Christian nation, with over 80% of our population professing their Christian faith.

Even in this Parliament, we start with a prayer, ending with, ‘through the same Christ our Lord’. Now, the Jesus we are proclaiming, let us get back to basics, to the Ten Commandments. One of the most serious, in my faith we call them mortal sins is, ‘thou shalt not kill’. Killing starts from the time conception is achieved. Our Constitution acknowledges the supremacy of God Almighty, including this Parliament.

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