Commendable move

This refers to your anchor news entitled "Abortion likely to be legalized" pub lished on February 12, TKP.

At least the government has woken up, if not fully realized the problem. There are many innocent and poor women who have paid hefty sums of money to local doctors for illegal abortions. This is because abortion is illegal. Some charge more than Rs 20,000 for an abortion. Imagine how a poor woman can afford this. Some even demand twice this amount especially in cities like Kathmandu, Biratnagar and Pokhara. There are many women who wanted to terminate their pregnancies but could not afford it, and so gave birth to unwanted children. It is not that the child born is unwanted but the baby would not have been born as a burden for the parents to raise. Like in China, the growth of the population would have been regulated considerably had abortion been easier. This could be the reason why many countries have legalized abortion. Unfortunately, poor Nepal continues to argue on the basis of tradition that no longer bears any validity. It is nothing but to show how poor are we in weighing the reality. I remember, the Maharashtra state government brings out advertisements concerning abortions frequently. I saw ads inside buses, at railway stations and major thoroughfares. Maharashtra is the most prosperous Indian state. There are many reasons why many countries have legalized abortion.

Chandra Bahadur
Satdobato, Kathmandu