Common Law with Mike Murenzvi
“If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.” – Florynce Kennedy.
This past week saw limited debate on a motion moved by Sen. Bertha Chinyanga and Sen. Annah Rungani to expand safe, legal abortion access continued in the Senate.
The background motivation for the motion comes from both a legal requirement stemming from a Nov 2024 High Court judgment declaring that the applicable access was too narrow and excluded other victims of unlawful sexual conduct, as well as a female reproductive rights aspect.
[See also: Zimbabwe’s Abortion Law Debate: Between Public Health, Rights and Religion – Part 2
Zimbabwe’s Abortion Law Debate: Between Public Health, Rights and Religion
COLUMN | After landmark ruling, a major update is coming to Zimbabwe’s Abortion Law]
A continuing debate
Debate Day 5 – 13 May 2025
Sen. Chief Charumbira (Male) (Chief) vociferously opposed the motion on several grounds, led by the simple statement, “We do not want to hear about this and that is why I stood up. I wanted really to stand up to discuss this, it is very un-African.”
He went on further to castigate the motion and all it stood for. He called on all senators to wholly and resoundingly reject the motion and any Bill that may come in its wake that even remotely expands abortion access beyond sexual abuse and emergency medical conditions.
Race played a very big role in the Chief’s submissions, where he said abortion has no part in black people’s lives and culture, and is a preserve for white people and is permissible in their culture. He gave no specifics of the cultural perspective on the matter, only declaratory statements warning the movers of the motion that it will fail. He added that all 18 senator chiefs will stand united in opposition to this motion and will canvas support from other senators on both sides of the aisle to ensure the result.
Concluding, Chief Charumbira noted that the motion in its current state gave carte blanche access to abortion services and will lead to girls getting pregnant freely knowing that they can just get an abortion and that cannot be supported.
Sen. Rebecca Fanuel (Female) (ZANU-PF), in opposition to the motion, spoke from a ‘God-fearing’ Christian perspective where she quoted the late former president, Robert Mugabe, who paraphrased from the Bible by calling on women to be fruitful and multiply so the nation may have more productive citizens. She spoke further about how abortion is a sin, and her bishop had recently addressed the topic at church, castigating it.
Furthermore, she equated availing abortion access to promoting prostitution and death. She called on the women senators not to support the motion as it undermines women’s reproductive health because later on in life, a woman who would have undergone an abortion may then long for the child she could have had. “Why should that be done when you do not know what God has given you? Sometimes you are given only one child, and you will cry until you die.”
She cemented her point by saying women must bear children for their husbands despite their economic status. The Lord and well-wishers will provide because the child’s potential is unknown. Any man who pushes a woman to have an abortion by whatever means should be reported to the authorities and locked up.
Debate Day 6 – 14 May 2025
Sen. Teresa Kabondo (F) (CCC) spoke briefly in opposition to the motion also from a Christian perspective. Like others who debated before her on the same theme, she also called Zimbabwe a Christian nation that must follow the sixth commandment, “thou shall not kill.”
In addition, she called upon women who had unwanted pregnancies, regardless of the circumstances, to give the children up for adoption rather than have an abortion.
In closing, she acknowledged that Parliament had recently passed the Death Penalty Abolition Act so, “what is it then that has changed overnight that we want back again but in the form of killing small children who are innocent, who cannot even defend themselves?”
Running score
The latest debate on the motion saw additional opposing contributions couched on religious and cultural grounds. The declaration of unanimous opposition by senator chiefs by Chief Charumbira should be especially worrying to the movers as this influential collective has significant sway in the house. As of this week, 18 senators have contributed to the debate with 11 against and 7 for the motion.
Waning support?
As has been the international trend on the topic, it is men leading the charge against abortion access with women being deeply divided. The continued invocation of cultural and Christian values has taken the forefront of the debate so far. There seems to be a shortage of senators supporting the motion with clear principles founded on health and reproductive rights grounds. It is also likely that other senators who may be in support of the motion fear backlash from their religious and social communities. We still hold onto the hope that there will be more spirited and balanced debate that will bring more to the table as the motion draws to a close. Sen. Chinyanga must engage supportive senators to take the floor and give their voice to this important debate.
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Mike Murenzvi writes in his personal capacity and his views are not associated with any organisation he is, or may be, affiliated with.
