Shocking revelation

According to the Sri Lanka Family Health Bureau around 1000 abortions are performed daily throughout Sri Lanka. The annual figure is estimated at around 300,000. What is shocking is the magnitude of the racket and the large numbers involved. This is in a situation where abortions are illegal and something that is still being frowned upon by Sri Lankan society. It shows that Sri Lankan women who earlier may have shuddered in horror at the thought have now become more liberal and emboldened. Life is today at a premium where even the unborn are not secure.

This indeed is a shocking revelation which goes against the grain of the country's socio-cultural mores. The family institution was held sacrosanct in Sri Lankan society and conception out of wedlock led to ostracization of women. Besides the childbirth and motherhood was the ultimate dream of our women.

From what is evident through these concepts and values have been thrown overboard today. What we have is an increasingly permissive society a la the West. Promiscuity is no longer something to be ashamed of among our women. For a sizable majority if not all of these women who got themselves aborted were obvious partners in adultery or sex out of wedlock. It is certainly a sad reflection on our society.

This situation though did not spring overnight but had been growing with the liberalization ethos that sprang from the open economy in the late seventies. This spawned not only a laissez-faire culture but also eroded all values hitherto held sacrosanct over generations. Leave aside abortions even a conceived being is virtually killed upon delivery. Today hardly a day passes without the press carrying news about a newborn being abandoned in some thicket or roadside by its mother.

We also frequently read about raids carried out on houses of ill fame. What is more, those taken in are mostly young girls from the rural areas which were the last bastions in the preservation of our social and cultural values. This shows the extent to which the country has been hurtling down the precipice vis-a-vis our social and cultural values. Today this permissive culture has even invaded our schools going by the numerous incidents of promiscuity that have been reported. It was only the other day that Police took into custody some 40 school-going couples who were on a tryst during school hours.

Poverty, every day pressures, the grind of living and other tensions have also led our women go astray and compromise their honour. According to our report the majority of those who sought abortions are females employed at the Free Trade Zone. Most of these women come from villages and are easy prey to the wolves who exploit them taking advantage of their innocence and ignorance. As our report states it is this vulnerable segment that goes in search of the illegal abortion clinics.

Hence steps should be taken to protect these women from the vultures by alleviating their living conditions. It is said that most of these women fall into pitfalls due to their ignorance of the urban life and also in the process of finding suitable lodgings. The State should intervene to provide these women with proper accommodation so that they would escape the claws of these vultures.

It is hard to believe that such a large number of abortions were performed in a day without detection all these years. It is obvious that there is connivance by some elements wielding power and authority in the whole racket. It is said that these abortion clinics had registered themselves with the Health Ministry in the guise of family planning Centres. No inspection was carried out into their activities until now.

What has been revealed may only be the tip of the iceberg. The Government should launch an inquiry in order to get to the bottom of this racket. The episode could sully the country's image for one thing. It could also cast aspersions on the country's proud culture and the importance attached by Lankans to the family institution.

As to the problem itself, now that the permissive lifestyles have got deep rooted in our society steps should be taken to educate the public more on the dangers associated with promiscuous living. Since sex is today discussed in the open and is no longer a taboo subject there is need to touch on the negative side of the liberal attitude towards sex. The topic should be even taken to the schools. The dangers of illegal abortions should be highlighted and prison terms imposed on the quacks responsible for the abortions in Sri Lanka.