While NGOs are doing everything they can to legitimise the voluntary termination of pregnancy in Cameroon, Mgr Jean Mbarga joins his voice to that of the government to block the way for this practice.
In his homily on Sunday, May 12, 2024, Monsignor Jean Mbarga gave his position on voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) in Cameroon. For the Metropolitan Archbishop of Yaoundé, this practice adopted in France is an abomination that certain Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), losing their values and visibly on a mission, want to legitimize in our country. “Let us remain vigilant in the face of the spread of abortion. Let our children be born so that they are the source of hope in families,” advised the man of God.
The outing of Bishop Jean Mbarga comes two months after a threatening press release from the Cameroonian Minister for the Promotion of Women and the Family on the same subject. Indeed, on March 22, Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa sent a letter to the regional delegates of her ministry to ask them to put in place monitoring systems on the actions of NGOs involved in the practice of abortion in Cameroon.
The practice of abortion is an act punishable by the Cameroonian penal code. Under the terms of article 337 (1), “is punishable by imprisonment of fifteen (15) days to one (1) year and a fine of five thousand (5,000) to two hundred thousand (200,000) francs or only one of these two penalties, the woman who procures the abortion for herself or who consents to it . According to paragraph 2 of the same article, the prison sentence is ” one (1) to five (5) years and a fine of one hundred thousand (100,000) to two million (2,000,000) francs for who, even with her consent, procures an abortion for a woman . The legislation authorizes the practice when the pregnancy endangers the life of the mother or if it is the result of rape.