MISSION VISIT TO LESOTHO APRIL 2018
“Cry my beloved country”! This was a painful emotional expression Ms Makhoale Pauline Motlomelo of Our Lady of Loretto Parish, Maseru unconsciously uttered after HLI’s one hour talk on the anti-life mentalities and ideological colonization confronting the Basotho. She lamentably experiences the disintegration of the beautiful Basotho cultures on life and family. The social cohesion which bound the Basotho together is falling apart. She compares that situation she faces to the situation of South Africa under apartheid regime which culminated in the novelist Alex Laguma’s cry for his country in his novel “Cry my beloved country”. Indeed there is serious reason to cry for Lesotho. The population is in a downward spiral with no hope of reversal. Parents have adopted the one child or two child mentalities such that the fertility rate is almost close to below replacement level. There are no children in the streets and villages. Low fertility rates, high rates of HIV infections and high mortality rates are the major worries of Makhoale Pauline Motlomelo.
In my recent mission visit to Lesotho I visited several places and talked to high school students, women groups, religious sisters, bishops and priests. I attended a day pro-life event which was organized by pro-life students group at St. Thomas High School to which I was the guest of honor. The bishop of Mohales Hosek, John Joale Tlhomola was also present. At the event pro-life students demonstrated through drama, songs, local dances and poetry that human life is sacred which should be protected and defended from the moment of conception until natural death; the family as the vital and basic unit of human society; the virtues of chastity and virginity must be cherished and lived by young people; abortion is murder; contraception harms women families and society. The Lesotho National Television which was invited to witness the event later in its evening news bulletin correctly put it “the pro-life movement, according to Human Life International Regional Director for Anglophone Africa, Mr. Emil Hagamu, is about ‘protection and defense of human life from the moment of conception until natural death and that it is opposed to any kind of killing, through abortion, contraception (abortifacients), euthanasia or infanticide. It continued to affirm that the pro-life movement, which is guided by Catholic teachings, is growing very fast among students and teachers in high schools across the country. It admitted further that the pro-life’s mission is in conformity with Lesotho traditional culture that loves and cherishes life and the family”. Sr. Celestina and other pro-life leaders at the school received many congratulatory calls after the news bulletin. Therefore, teachers from other high schools asked to be visited so they too can also start the pro-life movement at their schools. I also received a congratulatory message from the Bishop of Qacha’s Nek Diocese, Joseph Semphola when we talk over the phone about next year’s program in his diocese. There are two pro-life clubs at St. Thomas High School, a students’ pro-life club that has about 300 members and a teachers’ club that has 14 members. Both clubs are actively engaged in promoting the culture of life at the school. For students it is a tool that helps them to grow in moral virtues by living a chaste life. The teachers on the other hand do not think they can live without contraception. It is just impossible.
THE CONTRACEPTIVE MENTALITY
The anti-life mentality is deeply engraved in Sotho society. Being completely surrounded by its mighty liberal South Africa, Lesotho finds itself at cross-roads. On the one hand through its king, the Basotho long to embrace their cultural and traditional values that uphold the sacredness of life and beauty of an African extend family. However, on the other hand, the political and government leadership of Lesotho having been influenced by its South African neighbor and coerced by international ethos that are in favor of the culture of death draws it to embrace the ideologies of the culture of death. Through propaganda and ‘rewards for best practices’, which has gone unopposed for many years, the Basotho culture is falling apart. The Contraceptive prevalence rate of women aged 15-49 was 60.2% in 2014 according to World Bank collection of development indicators compiled from officially recognized sources. But according to Makhoale Pauline Motlomelo the contraceptive prevalence rate is as higher as 90%. Everyone is on contraception; school children, grown up un-married women and married women are all enrolled in the contraceptive use list. We are a contraception nation” she says. In 1977 the contraceptive prevalerence rate was only 7.2%
Hence many female students at St. Thomas High School, despite being Catholic and owned by the Holy Cross Sisters Congregation have made contraception their “weapon” against pregnancy. However, despite the massive contraceptive use, teenage pregnancies have skyrocketed and most of them end in abortion.
“If she has fallen pregnant, it is because she liked it. There are many contraceptives that can be used to prevent falling pregnant”, a student was heard telling other students.
Not knowing that contraceptives do fail, a good number of them become pregnant. According to the Ministry of Education’s directive, female students falling pregnant are expelled from school. Those who desire to continue their education opportunities can only do so by attending non-formal evening studies. Sr. Anna, Matron at the school told me the pregnancy rate at the school is alarmingly as high as 15%.
“Many young girls do not come back after holidays because they find themselves pregnant. For example, during the first school semester, January to Easter Holidays this year alone, more than 15 girls were expelled because of pregnancy. Last year over 30 female students were expelled”. Male students found to have impregnated girls at the school are also expelled. Contraceptives are readily available over the counter. No one questions the age of the woman buying them. No one speaks about possible side effects. No one tells them about the abortifacient nature of some of the contraceptive commodities.
The contraceptive mentality has serious consequences on the overall population growth of the country and culture. Lesotho fertility rate has fallen from 5.76 in 1975 to 3.14 in 2015 down to 2.65 in 2017. The population of Lesotho in 2017 was 62,768 live births; 32,470 deaths; natural increase 30,297. Unfortunately Lesotho does not have immigrants seeking permanent residence hence net migration was -4.195 people. The 1996 census experienced a sharp decrease of population growth rate to 1.5 per annum and to a lower growth rate of 0.81 in 2005. The 2006 census has indicated that the reason for this dramatic change is due to a high mortality rate and low fertility.
POPULATION DECLINE
Despite the small population of Lesotho, western population control groups and conglomerates continue to sing “the small family” song as being synonymous with development. And the Basotho have bought the agenda. This has led to net decline of Lesotho’s population and has continued to decline over the years; from 2.2 million some years back, to 1.8 and some estimate at 1.6 million currently. This means, the birth rate is already below replacement level of the universally accepted figure required for population replacement of 2.1 per woman of reproductive age. Without sounding too pessimistic, Lesotho is already in the slippery slope towards extinction. If no serious government’s efforts are taken to solve this trend. Lesotho may need serious immigration policies in the very near future. Six years ago, I said, I missed seeing children in Lesotho; today I still hold the same position. I saw some few children in the village I was, but that does not mean there are enough to replace the impending demographic catastrophe.
ABORTION IN LESOTHO
Contraception is not the only factor that has led to declining population in Lesotho. Abortion is another reason for decline of population in that country.
The constitution of Lesotho states abortion is prohibited except in cases of necessity, e.g. to save the life of the mother, serious health threat. The Regulation of Advertisement Proclamation of 1953 (No.60, section 3) prohibits the advertisement of items that could be used to procure an abortion. However, the proclamation excludes from criminal liability those persons publishing advertisements in technical journals circulated among medical practitioners, chemists, pharmacists and hospital managers.
According to the 2012 Penal Code
Article 45 (1) of the Penal Code states: A person who does any act bringing about the premature termination of pregnancy in a female person with the intention of procuring a miscarriage, commits the offence of abortion
However, immediately after that assertion, the Penal Code, literally allows abortion for any reason;
(2) It shall be a defence to a charge under this section that the act intended to terminate pregnancy was performed by a registered medical practitioner:
(a) in order to prevent significant harm to the health of the pregnant female person, and the person performing the act has obtained a written opinion from another registered medical practitioner to the effect that the termination of pregnancy is necessary to avoid significant harm to the health of the pregnant female person;
(b) in order to prevent the birth of a child who will be seriously physically or mentally handicapped, and the person performing the act has obtained in advance from another registered medical practitioner a certificate to the effect that the termination of the pregnancy is necessary to avoid the birth of a seriously physically or mentally handicapped child; or
(c) in order to terminate the pregnancy of a female person who is pregnant as a result of incestuous relationship or victim of rape
A nation that kills its unborn children simply to appease the health of the mother, or for rape or incest or that the child in the womb is deformed, is a nation that sets itself towards downward spiral as it wipes away its next generation of people. No wonder, therefore, when travelling within Lesotho there are more elderly people than children.
THE MEDIA PROMOTES ABORTION
That is why, despite the law that forbids advertisement of abortion activities, there are a number of abortion clinics in all major towns of Lesotho where abortionists freely advertise their business openly on newspapers. No authority has taken the bold step to criminalize those acts as per legal requirement. Some of the abortion clinics are:
Emil Hagamu
Human Life International Regional Director for Anglophone Africa
April 24, 2018