A 14-year-old girl is admitted to a Sri Lankan hospital trusted adult.

According to children's organisations, 21 cases of incest were recorded in 2001 while many more have gone unreported. This is one reason the abortion debate is once again being revived, with the Women's Affairs Ministry, under the new United National Front (UNF) government, is making a fresh effort to persuade mostly religious groups to accept the inevitable.

''We would like to legalise abortions at least in selective cases like incest or rape,'' said a ministry official who declined to be identified.

Victimised twice over

Pro-abortion groups say that children such as the 14-year-old, are cases which need to be considered with compassion and sympathy. Rape victims, both minors and women, are the ''vulnerable groups'' who have been left with no choice by the archaic anti-abortion laws in the country, an activist said.

The victim faces victimisation twice over: Compelled to go through an unwanted pregnancy, she ends up sentenced to a life of misery, stigma and shame.

None in this country, where the four major religions of the world are practised fervently, would push for blanket legal cover for abortions and canvass for abortions on demand, which at the moment is illegal.

On the flip side is the shocking fact that though abortion is illegal, 750 illicit abortions are being carried out each day, mostly by quacks.

Abortion is a dirty word in Sri Lanka. It is a criminal offence, unless two specialists certify that the termination of a pregnancy is essential to save the life of the mother.

''But isn't it time to take a long hard look at reality and a law that is over 120 years old?'' asked one specialist doctor.

About three years ago, the Justice Ministry proposed legislation to legalise abortion but quickly abandoned the effort following protests from the clergy.

Selected reasons

This time, the women-run Women's Affairs Ministry is behind the latest move to raise the abortion issue. It has been discussing the need for at least selective abortions with various groups including clergymen from the Buddhist, Catholic, Islam and Hindu faiths, and doctors.

Some experts who have been active in the field of women's and children's rights stress there is an urgent need to look at abortion laws and provide a choice as well as relief to selected, specific categories only.

''There shouldn't be over-the-counter access to abortions. But there are certain unfortunate groups who should be considered sympathetically,'' argues Dr Lakshman Senenayake, a well-known gynaecologist.

He agrees that Sri Lanka should allow abortions for selected reasons like rape, incest and severe foetal abnormalities — with strict monitoring and checks.

He says: ''The plight of a woman who has conceived after rape is very distressing. After getting over a most demeaning and horrible experience, she has to face the risks of a pregnancy that she does not want and be burdened for life with an experience she would rather forget.

''Next come victims of incest. There is also a very vulnerable group — children under the care of others such as those in orphanages, institutions and even in some schools, where an adult can coerce a child into having sexual relations. The child does not have anyone to turn to.''

''There's no legal way out, but to resort to illegal abortion. The other option is having the baby. She has to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea and it is not much of a choice,'' explained Senanayake, who is attached to the Castle Street Hospital for Women in Colombo.

Lifetime trauma and stigma

Updated figures were not available but statistics released by the Registrar-General's Department show that in 1997, more than 8,000 of 333,219 babies born that year were delivered by mothers who were under 18 years of age, the legal age for marriage. Of that 7,800 were born to women who were married and 236 to those unmarried. Meanwhile, figures collected from women's NGOs reveal that for 2001, 562 rapes and 21 cases of incest were recorded.

As victims don't have recourse to legal redress, they either labour through the pregnancy or seek the help of quacks in hole-in-the-wall clinics.

Medically unsupervised pregnancy terminations often result in the victims bleeding to death or having serious complications such as permanent damage to internal organs and not being able to have children ever. The psychological trauma and the stigma last a lifetime.

Dr Hiranthi Wijemanne, a senior programme officer at UN Children's Fund in Sri Lanka says that illegal abortions as well as the dumping of babies in lavatory pits or dustbins happen, and many are aware of that.

She says proposals to loosen the anti-abortion laws need to be tossed out and discussed. ''The humane angle has to be considered about children having to bear children and the fate of rape victims who conceive.''

Another group that worries Senanayake are expectant mothers who, after normal procedures such as scanning, find out that their children have a severe abnormality. ''Should a woman who knows that her foetus is destined to be incompatible with life, go through the stresses and complications of pregnancy and risk of illness or even death? Isn't that a sad state of affairs?''

He said once a doctor detects an abnormality, he is duty-bound to inform his patient. ''From that point onwards, under the present system there is nothing that can be done. Is the law just by the doctor and the woman?'' he asked.

Mechanism against miscreants

''It's ridiculous to think that if abortion is de-criminalised, all the women will rush off and have abortions. It's like divorce laws. Just because we have them, do we all seek divorce?'' notes Manel Abeyesekere, chairperson of the National Committee on Women.

She urges the public and relevant authorities to discuss the issue openly so that they would be able to get rid of all the ''hang-ups they have''. She adds: ''Half the battle would be won.''

Senanayake, however, had a note of caution. ''A mechanism should be in place to prevent miscreants from misusing the law for their gain. A review board comprising specialists from medical professional colleges and experts should take decisions on a strict case-by-case basis on allowing abortions,'' he stressed.

Given the controversy surrounding abortions, Women's Affairs Ministry officials are reluctant to speak out on the issue. ''We need to quietly build up a consensus otherwise the proposal would be shot down even before it started,'' one official said. — IPS