CAIRO: Experts have their reservations about a controversial draft law that will allow rape victims to undergo abortions, expressing skepticism about the social benefit of such a law and fear of its abuse. Member of Parliament Mohamed Khalil Kwaitah introduced a bill last November to amend Section 260 of the Penal Code that prohibits abortion under all circumstances except if the pregnancy threatens the mother s life. The Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Mohamed Tantawi's support for the initiative, however, triggered a fierce social debate. "Any girl or woman, who is subjected to rape, has the right in Islam to have an abortion at any time . it would not be considered a sin, he said. The draft law is now being discussed at the legislative committee before being voted on by the People s Assembly and will likely be approved within the coming two months, MP Kwaitah told Daily News Egypt. The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and Dar Al Ifta [the Islamic authority responsible for issuing religious edicts] have agreed on condition that the abortion be carried out within 120 days of pregnancy. Reports by forensic doctors will have to be issued with every case, said Kwaitah. Yet Dr Farid Ismail, member of the PA's health committee, thinks this law will open the door for social deviances. He believes the new law would in effect be condoning urfi marriages (common-law marriages without official documents) and illicit affairs. This law deals with religious and medical issues but the government has to take responsibility and solve the problem of rape, Ismail said. Dr Karim Hassanein, a gynecologist and professor at Ain Shams University, is also concerned that people might take advantage of this law. He stressed the importance of the police and forensic report from a public hospital following the incident to avoid foul play. From a medical point of view, the law states that the pregnancy can be terminated within 120 days and doctors agree that this would not endanger the mother. Nehad Abul Qumsan, head of the Egyptian Center for Women s Rights, said that killing the fetus after four months when the child's sex can be determined is extremely harsh. Hassanein agrees, warning that both the rape and the pregnancy must be discovered early on as abortion can be dangerous and cannot be done at any time during pregnancy. Dismissing these fears, Kwaitah affirmed that the law will not be abused. He also stressed the importance of such a law, saying it will relieve rape victim of the unwanted burden she is carrying. Allowing these abortions will prevent illegal abortions and will also be a deterrent for the crime of rape itself, the MP said. Abul Qumsan disagrees completely, saying that it did not constitute a solution to the crime of rape. Solving the problem of rape is not by killing a baby, she said. Instead of having an abortion, she says, rape victims who become pregnant should give birth and then choose whether or not they wish to keep the baby, citing the fetus' right to life as inviolable. Mervat Eid, a housewife and a mother of two daughters, disagrees, arguing that contemporary society requires new fatwas. "An unwanted child will suffer his whole life if the mother doesn't have an abortion, she told Daily News Egypt. Sherif Akl, a law student at Cairo University, supports the proposed law, saying that it is fair and respects a one's right to choose. You can t force someone to do something she doesn t want, he said.
