Criminalization of abortion in the Democratic Republic of Congo: the lives of women endangered

The DRC is one of the countries where abortion is punishable by law. Thus, women do it clandestinely, with all the risks that this entails. In view of these consequences, should we not just think of decriminalizing abortion?
Cases of voluntary termination of pregnancy continue to be recorded in the city of Bukavu. Girls and women deliberately abort and abandon fetuses on the street or in gutters. The most recent case is that which occurred in the Nyamugo district, in the commune of Kadutu, on the night of January 21 to 22, 2020, where a 6 and a half month old boy was born, found discarded and abandoned by his mother in the Kawa collector. .
Neighborhood chief Nyamugo confirmed the abortion. He has reported two other cases registered in his entity since the beginning of this year 2020.
Following this incident, an urgent meeting with the basic executives was convened in this environment. At the end of this meeting, it was agreed that door-to-door awareness sessions will be organized to find out the perpetrator of this act.
Some residents in the town of Bukavu explain these abortion cases by the lack of means, the fear of being turned back at home and the refusal of paternity; that push girls not to keep their pregnancies to term.
Others deplore the lethargy of the Congolese state regarding the enforceability of laws which prohibit the voluntary termination of pregnancies; a situation that accentuates abortion practices.
The Congolese penal code in its articles 165 and 166 delivers two, severely punishes any abortion caused on oneself or by others. The law punishes from 5 to 10 years of penal servitude for an abortion on oneself and from 5 to 15 years on others.
“Congolese law allows a doctor to have a woman abort if only her life is in danger following this pregnancy. This is a therapeutic abortion, "said the director of cabinet at the provincial justice ministry in South Kivu.
“Women and girls who terminate their pregnancies usually lose a lot of blood; a situation that can lead to death, "said the technical assistant to the national reproductive health program; Doctor Gaspard Ndarabu.
Doctor Gaspard Ndarabu clarified that the voluntary termination of a pregnancy can also be the cause of several health problems. He invites girls and women to observe abstinence to avoid unwanted pregnancies.
“We are not only asking the Congolese state to get involved in punishing those responsible for abortion; but families too, to get involved in this problem, because those who have abortions live in families, "suggests a resident of Bukavu.