MARTIN MAWAYA
GWERU-THE Zvido ZveVanhu Peoples Party (ZZPP) has written to Parliament formally opposing provisions in the proposed Medical Services Amendment Bill that seek to legalize and regulate elective abortion.
In an open letter dated December 16 and addressed to the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Minister of Health and Child Care, the Medical and Dental Professions Council of Zimbabwe and Members of Parliament, ZZPP president Godfrey Matadi urged legislators to reject the abortion clauses in their entirety.
Matadi said the party’s objection was rooted in ethical, philosophical and societal concerns, arguing that the proposed law undermines what he described as the “sanctity of life” from conception.
“Human life possesses inherent dignity and value from its earliest biological beginning,” Matadi wrote, adding that the State has a duty to protect the unborn as the most vulnerable members of society.
The party also raised concern over the ethical implications for the medical profession, warning that legalising abortion would place doctors and health practitioners in conflict with their core mandate to preserve life.
“The core ethos of the medical and health professions is encapsulated in the mandate to ‘first, do no harm’,” the letter reads, cautioning that authorising abortion could erode public trust in the healthcare system.
ZZPP further argued that legalising abortion on socio-economic or broad health grounds could have long-term societal consequences by making the right to life conditional on circumstance.
The party claimed that international experience shows abortion laws do not address the root causes of crisis pregnancies.
Instead, Matadi called on Parliament to pursue what he termed “life-affirming alternatives,” including strengthening adoption frameworks, expanding counselling and psychosocial support, improving trauma-informed care for survivors of rape and incest, and investing in maternal and neonatal healthcare.
He also urged government to prioritise education programmes on sexual responsibility and to bolster community-based support systems for families.
“The proposed path of legalised abortion represents a regressive approach to complex human challenges,” Matadi said, calling for a national dialogue focused on supporting women facing crisis pregnancies.
The Medical Services Amendment Bill is expected to be debated as Parliament continues to consider reforms in the health sector, a process that has already drawn sharp reactions from religious groups, civil society organisations and political actors.
