EQUATORIAL
In light of Article
42 of the Fundamental Law of Equatorial Guinea which establishes that
"the
State shall protect a child from his conception and watch over him so
that
he may develop normally and with security as to his moral, mental and
physical
health--as well as to his home"--it is necessary to develop this
constitutional
principle through a law that has as its goal protecting the human fetus
from
conception until birth by punishing all those practices that lead to a
voluntary
interruption of pregnancy, for these practices have a direct impact on
the
natural growth of the population, destroying not only the fetus but
also
harming the health and life of the future mother (in many cases such
practices
even result in the death of the woman whose pregnancy was voluntarily
interrupted).
By proposal of the
Ministry of Justice and Culture--after deliberation by the Council of
Ministers
during its meeting of
CHAPTER I: Abortion
Article 1. Abortion
is the interruption
of the natural process of pregnancy.
Article 2. The crime
of abortion
consists of those acts undertaken with the intention of interrupting
the
natural process of pregnancy in order to destroy a human fetus or, if
this
intention is lacking, those acts that have as their result the
destruction
of the human fetus of a woman whose pregnancy was known of by the
guilty
party.
CHAPTER II: Perpetrators
Article 3. A person
who intentionally
commits the offense described in the preceding Article shall be
punished:
1)
With a prison sentence
ranging from twelve years and one day to twenty years if he acted
without
the consent of the woman;
2)
With a prison sentence
ranging from six years and one day to twelve years if the woman
consented
to his acts.
If the perpetrator
used violence, intimidation, threats, or deceit to carry out the
abortion
in the first case or in order to obtain the consent of the woman in the
second,
or if the death of the woman resulted, the maximum term in 1) above
shall
be imposed.
Article 4. Abortion
caused violently,
with knowledge of the woman's pregnant state, but with no intention to
cause
an abortion, shall be punished with a prison sentence ranging from four
to
six years.
Article 5. A woman
who performs
an abortion on herself or consents to another person performing it
shall
be punished with a prison sentence ranging from six years and one day
to twelve
years.
Article 6. A woman
who performs
an abortion on herself or consents to another person performing it in
order
to hide her dishonor shall be punished with a prison sentence ranging
from
six months and one day to twelve years.
Parents who cooperate
in the performance of an abortion for these reasons shall be punished
with
the same penalty.
CHAPTER III: Incitement
Article 7. Those who
directly
induce or incite another to commit the acts constituting the crime of
abortion
shall be punished with a prison sentence of twenty years.
CHAPTER IV: Accomplices
Before,
During, and After the Act
Article 8. Those who,
while not
coming under the definitions set forth in Chapters Two and Three,
cooperate
in activities before or during the execution of the criminal act shall
be
punished with a prison sentence ranging from two to four years and with
a
fine of 50,000 to 75,000 francs C.F.A.
Article 9. Those who,
aware that
a punishable crime has been committed without having been involved as a
perpetrator
or an accomplice, intervene after the fact by hiding or altering the
body
of evidence or the effects or instruments of the crime or hiding or
facilitating
the flight of the culprit shall be punished with a prison sentence
ranging
from six months and one day to two years and a fine from 25,000 to
50,000
francs C.F.A.
Article 10. Spouses,
ascendants,
descendants and natural siblings of the perpetrator shall be exempt
from
the punishments described in the preceding Article.
CHAPTER V: Professionals
Article 11. A
professional who,
by abusing his skill, commits the crime of abortion or cooperates in it
shall
be punished by the maximum penalty provided for in the preceding
Chapters
and with a fine ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 francs C.F.A.
Article 12. For the
purposes
of this law, "professionals" shall include doctors, midwives,
health-care
technicians, and persons holding a health-care degree.
Article 13. Those
who, although
not holding a health-care degree, habitually engage in the performance
of
abortions shall be punished with the same penalties established in
Article
11.
Article 14. Doctors,
midwives,
health-care technicians and persons holding a health-care degree who
assist
in the performance of an abortion shall be obligated to make this fact
known
to the Health Authorities within forty-eight hours.
Failure
to do so will result in a fine ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 francs
C.F.A.
Article 15. A
pharmacist who,
without proper authorization or the prescription of a professional,
dispenses
an abortifacient shall be punished with a prison sentence ranging from
six
months and one day to two years and a fine ranging from 25,000 to
100,000
francs C.F.A.
His subordinates shall
suffer the same penalty for the same act.
CHAPTER VI: Permitted
Abortions
Article 16. In
exceptional circumstances,
a pregnancy may be interrupted if allowing it to continue could result
in
serious consequences for the health or life of the pregnant woman.
For an interruption
of pregnancy to be performed in these circumstances, the following
requirements
must be met:
a)
The determination of
the necessity of an interruption of pregnancy must be made by a
professional;
b)
It must be performed
in a health center;
c)
It must be performed
by a doctor authorized to perform abortions;
d)
When there is a medical
indication for an abortion under paragraph 1 above and the woman's
husband
or guardian expresses opposition, the doctors shall make this fact
known
to the judicial authorities for a final determination.
* * *