Govt. will not support legalising abortions

Saturday, 9 September 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Charumini de Silva

Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga yesterday categorically opposed limited legalising of abortion as proposed and insisted that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has assured the proposal would not be supported.

“I inquired on this issue from Prime Minister on Thursday and he said the Government would not support this proposal,” he told journalists in Colombo.

The proposal was made at a scientific session of a doctors union. The Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith also commented on the matter, claiming abortion cannot be considered a human right.

The Archbishop stated that the right to kill is not a human right, adding human rights were meant to save lives.

“Sri Lanka is a multi-cultural, multi-religious community that values reconciliation. As the subject Minister of Christian Religious Affairs, the Government will not support this proposal,” Amaratunga reiterated.

The Minister claimed that perhaps the doctors support this proposal because it would be an additional income generation for them, noting that if they caught practicing they would be sentenced to jail.

“The doctors are already making enough trouble in the country staging protests every day. They are trying to put this too and attempting to create another chaos. Let’s hope not,” he added.

However, Amaratunga stressed there were significant numbers of abortions carried out on a daily basis illegally. “There are things happening behind the screens. My goodness! If you look at the numbers, it is outrageous.”