OOOOOHHHH mannnn I have kept quiet about this because I am too tired of having this same convo with tone deaf people but I just cant anymore while seeing all this. So, Abortion in Sri Lanka and legalizing it.Yup.Lets talk shall we? I am just tired of the arguments so countering-

1st, the basic oppositions: It is murder, if we allow this women can go "wild", It is against our religions, it is a western concept and against our culture, women should not be able to make stupid mistakes and get rid of the consequences because it is human life. Okay, lets go-

Lemme just tell you, the fight for legalizing abortion in SL does not advocate for free choice to abort on a whim. Abortion is asked to be legalized under 3 grounds, 1. rape, 2. incest, 3. Fetuses with lethal abnormalities. Abortion is currently allowed if it is medically proven-

that the mothers life is at risk, but requires the medical consensus by 3 doctors, that abortion is the only option that will save her life.

Countering the idea that it is women who go "wild" and have premarital sex that wants this legalized, Nope. Actually, research shows that more than 90% of those who undergo illegal abortions, are married. Reasons can range mainly based on poverty and the inability to provide.-

abusive partners who do not listen to the woman's choice, or lack of knowledge on use of contraceptives. Now you will come up and say, so have the child and give it up for adoption. Adoption rates in our country are low. So you are basically damning the child to a life of being-

alone, at an orphanage thinking no one loves them, cursing their own existence, or they will remain born into the home where their existence is not wanted, and whatever anger or disdain the parents may have, projected on to the child, till they fall into depression,or develop-

antisocial behavior. Y'all really want that for a child who has no say in being born and what kind of life they want? Sounds hella cruel and not at all thinking about human life to me. Oh and in some private laws, adopted kids do not get any inheritance, or even a family name.

Murder: No, its not that either. Abortion is generally requested to be before 120 days,until then it is just a clump of cells that has no "life" per se (no consciousness,soul etc). No one is really out here killing babies in the womb bro. But hold up, y'all really think its easy-

Let me also tell you, none of the women I have met who chose to abort did so on a whim. They dont find out they are pregnant, chuck the test in the bin and just yeet out of motherhood. The decision is not made overnight. There is so much pain, so much trauma, so much self hate,-

guilt, second guessing that goes into making the choice to terminate the life that we women naturally are conditioned to love.The choice to abort,is one of the most soul crushing and damaging choices most women make. They carry it till their death mostly,not forgiving themselves-

There may be women who are devoid of such emotion,but majority of women who choose abortion,do not do SO on a whim. The baby is inside her y'all, and it is from her body that it will taken out. She is the first person to feel the presence, to know life is in her. IT IS NOT EASY.-

Rape victims and incest- both are the worst crimes that can ever happen to a female, and to make matters worse, they are given a reminder of their abuse and pain to carry around for the rest of their lives, getting pregnant from their abusers. Is that fair? to be violated, and-

then expected to carry the result of that violation, in some jurisdictions, the idea that a raped victim should marry the rapist exist. Do you think that is fair? do you think that is right? rape,incest, leave scars that almost never heal and stops a woman from forming normal-

relationships devoid of damage. and on top of that you want a constant reminder of the abuse growing inside you and you have to face it each day? Tell me if that is right? Is that even humane?

Dont come at me with this doesn't happen here. It does, in fact there are secret homes of pregnant children who give birth to their abusers kids, because they have no access and knowledge about abortion. Children who have been raped by their fathers, uncles,brothers,family who-

are at the mere age of 12/13, with massive tummies they cant even hold up in their childish frame, who might even die giving birth. Do you really think they should not be given the right to abort? Do you really hate the female kind that much?

Lethal abnormalities: if it is proven that the child to be born is going to suffer for the rest of his/her life under a terminal illness, or could die after few days of birth, or live with a fatal deformity that cannot be healed for the rest of their lives, is it fair on the-

child to bring them into such life of intense pain and misery only for them to die,or if they live,one day commit suicide? and as a parent, watch helplessly as they die away knowing you cant do anything about it?do you know what that pain is like? no but you still run that mouth-

personally,i have a problem with how medical consensus is needed to prove the mother could die. To me it says, we do not care about the female body, and it is only when a couple of people tell me that she really is going to die, that she gets to live. if one doctor misdiagnoses-

what will happen to her? Who do you value more then? a human being who has lived and thrived for years, and knows will die, or a clump of cells who doesn't know life yet? This is playing rock,paper,scissors with a woman's life.But when have women mattered here in SL right? -

Religion: Bro. Please. in that light none of us should be having sex out here because premarital sex is a sin. You wanna talk murder? murders happen every single day in this holier than thou country of ours. we have waged wars. some of our histories were built on blood.-

corruption runs deep. people lie, people drink, do drugs, steal, and those are common sins in all the main religions as i know. But when a womans choice is in question, thats when yall are all rEliGioUs? some of yall could be jailed just by looking at your porn history bro.-

I can only speak for Buddhists since that is what i have chosen as my religion, but we are told not to kill living beings, abortion deals with life that is still not living but could come to live after a certain time. So please. jog on with your faux religious rhetoric.-

in a country where we only go to the temple when crap hits the ceiling,have an exam,or someone is dying,some real hypocrisy clamoring it is against our religion to abort.Y'all do dansals at vesak and get wasted at the back. A woman cant even walk on the road.*sips tea pointedly*-

Y'all think just because its not legalized that it doesn't happen? Honey, acc. to statistics (2018) over a 1000 abortions happen daily in SL illegally under unsafe and unsanitary conditions, by "clinics" or self inflicted. In 2016,it was 658 per day (MOH). sorry to burst bubbles-

The problem is that because it is not legalized, women abort under these conditions and suffer lifelong damages or death. There are pills that can kill you if you take the wrong dose, methods that are not medically approved that could make it so your body is never the same again-

This is what can be monitored,safely regulated by our hospitals if abortion is legalized under relevant grounds. where women who cannot have the child,can make sure that both her and the child's lives are not ruined forever. If you are against legal abortion, you're for illegal.-

Abortions will continue to happen if you like it or not.But the right and humane thing to do is to make it so that a woman's life and choice is treated with respect,given dignity and not influenced by religious/social ideals that thrive off female oppression since the early ages-

What of the fathers right to keep the child? Yes, he does have a right. But the child does not grow and alter his body, will not restrict his career choices,will not subject him to judgement for not caring for the childs every need, face it, men dont have to do much under the-

current social norms except provide. Having a child is almost an accessory to a mans life,a symbol of his "ability" and virility, but it becomes everything the woman is,her very existence and more when she becomes a mother. Thats just my personal opinion based on observation.-

so the decision to keep the child, should be mainly with the mother. Not that a father who wants to stay, is not her abuser and wants to provide has no say in it,but the risks and life changing alterations are higher for the female. So she must choose. Now obviously there can be-

women who want to abort as revenge against the partner, and that is exactly why carefully crafted laws and specified circumstances are needed. Situation as it is, if you have the money and the contacts,you can go abort anytime without any assessment of analysis of facts.-

This is honestly a debate that can be debunked in favor of pro-choice every single time. and i just have. so lets stop pretending it is anything to do with being concerned for children, life, or religion. this is simply, giving a woman the freedom to take charge of her body.-

and that, is what doesn't sit right with men. Everyone speaks against abortion with hate towards women, but her eggs were fertilized by a man.A man,who if he knows he has no business getting anyone pregnant,should have known better. So then,why don't we start chemical castration-

for rapists, vasectomies or male birth control? Simple, that point, men will start saying its their body,their choice. For people who give creative excuses to not wear condoms,you sure have suggestions to protect our vaginas.And no, you're not too big for a condom hun. Trust me.-

The following statement was made in parliament reg. Passing the abortion bill: මේවා කරන්න දුන්නොත් අපේ ගෑනු යකා නටයි" translation, women will go wild,if we allow this bill. The fear is that women will be sexually free,and take charge of their sexuality. Not about unborn children-

Do i think abortion should be legalized? Yes,but under the relevant grounds.Because i believe in accountability, in the 21st century with access to contraceptives,adults who have sex should know better. I dont think you get to be reckless and then get to terminate human life.BUT-

this is only possible if we had proper sex ed, and national awareness on safe sex,contraceptives and so on, which we dont. Also even learn to stop belittling people who openly talk about it, and labeling women who do as sluts who know too much. -

Am i pro-choice? indisputably. I believe women should be able to choose to keep or terminate life based on their circumstances of life, of pain and ability. Because nature chose us for the job, and we can handle that just fine without men telling us what to do. However, I dont

agree to "No uterus,no opinion" because its important to engage men in the conversation,educate,and build allies.We cant shut male voices out of this conversation,its still a patriarchal world and we need to have strong male allies. So,for me, it is "No Uterus, No decision."-

We need to legalize abortion in Sri Lanka. We need access to safe abortion methods in Sri Lanka. And; we need to allow women to have freedom of their own bodies and the respect everyone is due as a human with a mind to make decisions. We need to build awareness and education.-

Engage in factual sound debate, and honestly just be more human. Kinder, open and understanding. And,dare I say,stop subscribing to the the culture of hypocrisy that is almost endemic to Sri Lanka. #SafeAbortionLK #SriLanka #NouterusNodecision #EqualityForAll

if anyone wants facts/statistics/reports on what i have mentioned,DM,I will compile information and direct it towards you. But this,is honestly all i needed to say about Abortion in SL,and the same tiring conversation I have had for the past 2 years.Change shouldn't be this hard.

Women are not asking to go wild,we ask for freedom, and to be seen as humans,and not just receptacles for your next generations/baby factories; no matter who the father is. Let us at least have autonomy over our own physical bodies, because you do not even allow us our space.

Oh also, tiny addition, abortion was never a western concept, historically Lankan women would use herbs and mixtures to terminate pregnancies at different stages of the process, and it was a common practice in harems specially. So please don’t even.