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Good News Out of Mozambique

Jill

Mozambique has decided to end its ban on abortion after the government acknowledged that current legislation was endangering the lives of women in the country, according to news reaching here from the Mozambican capital Maputo on Monday.

The proposed shake-up follows the release of a report by the Mozambican Health Ministry which said around 100 pregnant women were dying every year after seeing backstreet abortionists while many more suffered “serious after-effects.”

Abortion was first outlawed in the former Portuguese colony in legislation as early as 1886 and a ban reaffirmed in a 1981 law six years after the southeastern African country gained independence.

The Mozambican Health Ministry said 30 percent of women admitted to Maputo’s main hospital following a backstreet abortion end up dead.

According to figures compiled by the UN World Health Organization, some 68,000 women die annually due to unsafe abortions, most in developing countries like Mozambique.

Emphasis mine. This is great news, and will certainly save the lives of many, many women. Cheers to Mozambique.

A random little-known Jill fact: “Mozambique” was my favorite Bob Dylan song as a kid. My parents used to play Desire on all of our long drives, and since then I’ve always wanted to visit. /end Jill playing the association game.

6 thoughts on Good News Out of Mozambique

  1. Wow, people looking at the *facts* and the health affects of abortion illegalization on women? And then making a sound policy decision based on it? What a breath of fresh air – Mozambique, we could use some over here!

  2. Pingback: Mozambique to end abortion ban « The Flying Fascist

  3. “… and maybe say hello with just a glance”

    It’s a lovely song. My favorite on Desire was always Black Diamond Bay, though. The Greek, the soldier, the tiny man, the woman in the Panama hat…

  5. My favourite is still Hurricane – despite the occasionally ridiculous lyrics and scansion: “They’re gonna put his ass in stir / They’re gonna pin this triple murrrr- / -der on him / He ain’t no Gentleman Jim”. Although I’ll put this line from Isis up against any “most unusual rhyme” contender – “The wind was howling and the snow was outrageous / We chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn / When he died I was hoping that it wasn’t contagious / But I made up my mind that I had to go on”.

    Back on topic, good news from Mozambique – great to see decisions on reproductive rights being made in the context of health-care rather than ideology.

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