Jim Day
DOCTOR Eva Ngwenya-Seobi points to the tiny male genitals, the little feet and the thumb inserted contentedly in the mouth of the 12-week-old human foetus she keeps in a jar of formaldehyde.
It is obvious, she says, that this thumb-sized boy floating in his amniotic sac was a living, kicking person before he was removed from his mother’s womb in an illegal Soweto abortion 12 years ago.
Her belief that the foetus was once as much a living person as anyone else is why she, along with many other medical professionals around the country, are refusing to perform abortions upon request.
Health officials say resistance among medical staff is the main reason why many hospitals have yet to begin offering abortions. According to the Termination of Pregnancy Act, no medical professionals opposed to abortion can be forced to be involved in the procedures.
“I pray there should be more resistance, until they close down and stop doing them,” says Ngwenya-Seobi, a general practioner in Duduza, a township on the East Rand.
She recognises a medical need to perform abortions in cases where the mother’s life is in danger. There were times during her training at Baragwanath Hospital when she removed dead foetuses from women who had undergone backstreet abortions. It was at Baragwanath that she obtained the preserved foetus.
Terminating a pregnancy for non-medical reasons, however, goes against her Christian beliefs and the respect for life that she says is basic to her profession.
“The taking of life, as far as I’m concerned, is the most devilish thing a doctor can do. We go in to save lives, and here we are taking them.”
When patients come to her asking about ending their pregnancy, she tries to convince them they can keep and support the child with the help of their extended families. If they insist they cannot, she tells them adoption is an option. Out of every 10 patients who come to her to discuss abortion, Ngwenya-Seobi says she persuades seven to carry the baby to term.
The determination of the other three to abort, however, does not mean “society must descend to a lower moral standard,” Ngwenya-Seobi says.
Now that abortion upon request is legal in this country, Ngwenya-Seobi, a mother of three, does not relish the prospect of telling patients where they can have the procedure done. If pressed, she will, but she will also try to convince them the procedure is wrong.
And to cut down on inquiries, she plans to hang a big sign in her office stating simply, and for all her patients to see: “No abortions are done here.”