Forcing single mothers to report the perpetrators of pregnancies somehow violates women’s rights. Certainly, the public authorities have the good will to deal with the phenomenon of unknown fathers, but the use of force will have negative repercussions on the daily experience of single mothers. During a session of oral questions addressed to the Minister of Health, a senator hit the nail on the head. For him, midwives should require single mothers to denounce the perpetrators of pregnancies during childbirth. Otherwise, they will not benefit from the advantages linked to childbirth as prescribed in the free care policy. This dangerous practice exposes future mothers to serious consequences. This can cause infant mortality or postpartum illness to explode. Doctors must exercise their profession freely. They took an oath before exercising. Thus, they are required to respect all people, their autonomy and their will, without any discrimination based on their state or their beliefs. In addition, the said oath obliges them to intervene to protect them if they are weakened, vulnerable or threatened in their integrity or dignity. Even under duress, the doctor will never use his knowledge against the laws of humanity. Hence the authorities should stay out of the profession and let doctors carry out their noble mission.
Benjamin Kuriyo, Publication Director
The idea of forcing single mothers to report the perpetrators of pregnancies was announced by the Minister of the Interior himself last year. “ We are going to force their mothers to reveal the fathers of these children, because surely they know them », said Martin Niteretse, Minister of the Interior during a meeting with provincial governors. He even prohibited civil status agents from registering children with unknown fathers in civil status registers. A measure which had a negative response in public opinion. Points of view differ. Some argue that forcing single mothers to reveal the perpetrators of their pregnancies as the Home Secretary wishes is an excellent initiative. This could restore the rights of these children who risk carrying the sorrow of not knowing their fathers throughout their lives. Others say it could cause more trouble than good.
The other concern is that the obligation to denounce the author of a pregnancy could result in a person being unfairly accused of being the father of the child. A girl on a delivery bed could suffer doubly. Cases of sexual abuse are legion in households. Forcing her to denounce the alleged perpetrator before giving birth would be to rub salt into the still fresh wound and cause trauma to the mother-to-be. What about servants abused by their bosses? Will they have the courage to denounce them? And who will protect them against reprisals from the crooked authors of their pregnancies. For experts, the only test that can reveal the child’s real father is the DNA test. However, few health facilities have them and they cannot be used without the prior opinion of the prosecutor. Once in force, the measure risks once again violating the rights of children and single mothers.
