Rural community member's perception on termination of pregnancy act (92-1996) in selected villages within Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality

Abstract

In the practice of public administration, the law-making process always predominates and therefore, it should be stressed from the onset that law making in general is much more than a decision making. This study therefore locates the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (Act 92 of 1996) as a law articulation that need to be implemented accordingly to realise societal goals. However, with good intentions of such a law, there are challenges regarding implementation thereof within sectors of the society due to the diverse nature of South Africa in both traditions, cultural and religious beliefs. The introduction of the Act in South Africa was received with lot of pessimism and concerns by traditionalists, individuals that are culturally sensitive and religious leaders of various denominations. Such concerns has observably created a conundrum within traditional communities within the selected villages found in the Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality in that termination of pregnancy is regarded as a taboo and immoral, more so within both the traditional and religious circles. Due to those escalating challenges and perceptions, it is deemed necessary that the study of this kind be conducted to inform both the practice and the academia for purpose of advancing knowledge within the field of Public Administration. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of community members of the selected villages of Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality about the Termination of Pregnancy Act (92 of 1996). This was done through the use of primary and secondary data as it aimed to present the quantitative and qualitative explanation and report on the perceptions of the community members of the Act 92 of 1996 in South African municipalities. However, this was chosen because the methods assist in verifying the validity of the data and tend to emphasise that there is a common reality on which people can agree on. Therefore, the findings of the study reveals that community members are aware of the implementation of Act 92 of 1996, they believe that the Act is a human right issue and it provide health and safety of women but nevertheless, they perceive the Act as contradicting their moral right, because they believe that termination of pregnancy is as same as murder. In conclusion, it is recommended that the effective public participation is needed because people are aware of termination of pregnancy but are not well informed of the Act; that the implant contraceptive injection should be a rule, be applied to high schools that every teenage girl must be injected to prevent unwanted pregnancies; girls bellow the age of 18 years should consult their legal guardians before requesting TOP; conditions of parents to those of minors should be different and only pregnancy that resulted from rape must be allowed for termination or however, the Act should just be abolished.