Will legalisation of abortion in Mauritius give rise to more 'fake rape'?

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By 'fake rape' I mean: put a charge of rape in order to obtain money or ruin reputation.

I think it will become real as women will have the power to abort the child.

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Peaches Level 3

I believe women should have a choice. There is a huge list of reasons as to why a woman would put herself through that. No-one should ever bring a child into the world if they are not ready or financially stable! Its just wrong, why would you want to ruin two lives? Also for those that say give the child up for adoption, how many people really adopt each year? Many children stay in orphanages for years and some never ever get adopted why would you put a child through that.

I found that the amount of people here that get 'back door' abortions are shocking, nearly everyone I know know's someone who's had one too, yet they are supposed to be illegal! Rape is actually very difficult to prove and the majority of cases fall through before reaching court because of lack of evidence anyway, so I don't see an issue there.

Also I don't understand how this can lead to 'medical tourism' do you know that abortions in most countries are free? In Mauritius is costs around Rs 25,000 add this to the cost of flights... you see my point.

I also don't understand how abortion replaces contraception, everyone knows that there are huge risks involved that can lead to infertility and even death in rare cases. So I don't see how any sane person would use this as a form of contraception.

If abortion upsets so many people they should start living in this century and teach their children about contraception and abstinence! Contraception here is still taboo yet I see so many underage girls parading around in short skirts and clothing not decent for their age, if the government doesn't raise awareness the parents should. I know many women in their 20's and 30's who don't have a clue about contraception and they're married! They fall pregnant and don't know about it for weeks even months, that's even more damaging to the unborn child.

Anyway abortion should be legalised because there are many fake doctors that perform them too, this increases the risks even more and like I said all women should have a choice, its their body at the end of the day.

1 Reply

Khush_Mendossa Level 3

I guess as a woman you are right. And I approve your answer and way of thinking :)

But do you think woman can use this new law in a wrong way? If yes please say how.

Peaches Level 3

Hmm its difficult to say, to be honest only stupid and uneducated people are the ones to try it. One way I can think of that a woman would use this to their advantage is someone who is a 'good girl' having sexual relations, finds out their pregnant and to save face and not dishonour the family cry rape!

Men should always carry condoms and shouldn't trust women when it comes to contraception, they are very easy to fail. For people who are worried that girls will cry rape you should have evidence that sex was consensual such as not having one night stands and telling your friends about your new partner. This way if a claim was to arise your friends can back you up, also don't forget there are emails and texts so save them too, to protect yourself.

I find that its such a shame that people fear false rape claims because I worry that people will avoid relationships and use prostitutes instead which will lead to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases.

Khush_Mendossa Level 3

The Sexual Offenses Act is a great advantage to men. It is easy to prove a rape, however it is also easy to counterattack evidential presumptions.

Let's see what fake cases the Mauritian context offers us in the near future!

anonymous_4 Level 1

Yes, it would be real but men or woemn have or would have the power to abort their child this is a criminal act in my opinoin

K.GASPARD

gices Level 6

Rigorous checks need to be made before going ahead with the abortion I suppose. But then again, it can be the question of someone's word against another and it's going to be difficult to prove who is telling the truth.

However, I don't think it's right to bring a child into this world if you don't really want to. Yes, I understand it's a life and you have no reason to kill the foetus but what good is that going to do to raise an unwanted child? Contraception is not 100% guaranteed and neither are condoms. If a woman falls pregnant whilst trying to be careful, it's her decision whether to go ahead with the pregnancy or not. That's 9 months of her body undergoing changes and a lifetime of responsibility when the child is born.

Whether or not that would create problems, I think it's upto the mother to decide what she wants to do.

MikeSin Level 1

It is too simplistic to see the issue from one side only. What about the right to life of the foetus, a human being formed? From the EU experience we see that abortion has, in many cases, replaced contraception. For Mauritius there is also another long-term issue which is medical tourism. Does Mauritius want to become an abortion hub? I say long-term issue because you can bet that if this first law is passed the next one will be the full one. I feel sorry for Mauritius succumbing to outside pressures from the likes of the UN or EU, I guess because they receive grants from these organizations. It's like losing your independence. This issue should have had more thought and debate and possibly a referundum in the Mauritian context.

gices Level 6

Human rights in itself is flawed in my opinion. A child is not given the option whether or not he wants to be born, it's the parents who decide and choose to make the baby. Now if the parents themselves don't want the child, it's going to be a miserable life for the child. Unwanted children do not have a happy life because from the very beginning they can sense they were not wanted in the first place. If the mother is not ready or will not love the child as she's supposed to, then wouldn't it be better to save the child from the agony? Yes, it's cruel to abort but that's nothing compared to a lifetime of anguish.

Of course, abortion is not a replacement for contraception but what about in the event of failed contraception or rape? Surely those girls getting pregnant at 16 are not ready to be a mum yet but if forced to carry the child, then that's going to be a waste of 2 lives.

A request for abortion needs to be justified and strict rules need to be implemented to avoid gaming the system. For example, if you see a teenage girl coming second/third time round for abortion, then obviously something ain't right...

MikeSin Level 1

When discussing the unwanted child there is also the alternative of adoption. Adoption regulations also need to be revised in Mauritius. As for early age pregnancies, I live near a centre for unmarried young mothers to be. Here there are pregnant girls as young as 13. They are not rape cases but mostly a combination of parental neglect and lack of education. However, not all are innocent victims, some parents do not want to take them home because they are problematic girls.

Just by our exchanges here we can already see how problematic this issue is. It crosses over several societal problems. Hopefully, parliament will not use this to shortcut the huge problem of under-age pregnancies in Rodrigues and Mauritius.

Khush_Mendossa Level 3

I don't think that adoption instead of abortion is a good idea. Will the child be happy? Will the child know about parental love and so on?

Is there any statistical evidence by sociologists that adopted children are doing well emotionally?

In Mauritius, the child will not have a decent material life, perhaps making him craving for materials and later on be a delinquent.

Anyways, coming to 'FAKE RAPE', do you think this will be an issue?