?Newborn children represent perfection and the state of being to which each of us is duty ? bound to return.? Robin Sharma

Edgar D. Mitchell, the sixth astronaut to walk on the moon, after a peak experience in space when ?the presence of Divinity became almost palpable? and reflecting on the human situation on earth, came to the conclusion : ?Humanity must rise from man to man-king, from personal to the transpersonal, from self-consciousness to cosmic consciousness.? He felt that ?only when man sees his fundamental unity with the processes of nature and functioning of the universe - as I so vividly saw from the Apollo spacecraft - will the old ways of thinking and behaving disappear. Only when man moves from his ego-centered self-image to a new image of universal man will the perennial problems that plague us be susceptible to resolution?.

At present, despite impressive progress in science and technology, the world is faced with a crisis of unremitting violence in the shape of wars, terrorism, murder, vandalism, child abuse and abortion. In Mauritius, the followers of various faiths and philosophies must make a concerted effort to settle the abortion issue which has been lingering in our minds for almost a quarter of a century. Just like the seeds of reconciliation lie within the Qur?an and the Bible as well as the Gita and the traditions they represent, there is unity in the diversity of the Mauritian nation.

As Henry Ford has said, ?Failure is the only opportunity to begin again more intelligently.? We have learned our lessons each time we failed in finding solutions to the abortion issue. Abortion is a worldwide phenomenon and the government of each country has its own approach in dealing with this problem, be it a champion of morality or a rigid administrative structure that commands obedience from Parliament, regional leaders and the judiciary.

The success story of our island lies in the fact that the government has unwavering faith in the voice of the nation. It is the people?s government where democracy is deep-rooted and the people are free to articulate their views. It is a pivotal moment for minister Faugoo to fold up his sleeves in a lordly manner and listen to the voice of the Mauritian nation which has stamina, stunning beauty and flamboyant grace.

Consider the world with its six billion human beings, consider the recent United Nations report, which stated that up to 50 million girls and women are missing from India?s population, the result of systematic sex discrimination extending to the abortion of female fetuses, which is officially banned. Consider the loss of innocent lives of unborn children in the womb of mothers in those countries where abortion is legal. Consider the number of abortions carried out in safe or unsafe conditions, illegally in the home, certain private clinics and by individuals by making use of pills, injections, curetage or even a simple un-sterilised knitting needle in the most inhuman and unhygienic conditions.

Today, it is indeed urgent and pressing to build up an Action Plan to settle the abortion issue ? not spaghetti ? like tangle of conflicting views will conjure images of clean sweeps, good will, muscular policy-making and success. The Mauritian nation prefers reason to doctrine, is strong on ideals, indifferent to ideology and its instinct is to judge government not by grand designs but by practical results. We have to fight against all odds and decide using George Marshall?s basic maxim ? ?Don?t fight the problem, decide it.? More than anything else, the legacy must be one of the mind.

We must no longer be a locomotive but a brake at the end of the train. We cannot be a political and economic giant but a social dwarf. Let?s legalise abortion in specific cases.

Freud spent his life proving that we are ruled by unconscious desires that are beyond our control. This surely applies to those who are unaware of yoga and meditation. However, the modern style of living, abuse of cigarette, alcohol and drugs has worsened the control of those who do not know how to control themselves. Without overstating the magnitude of the calamity, with considerable consternation, we read about women and young girls, even tender toddlers being raped by men under the influence of alcohol. Common heart-shattering stories of handicapped girls being raped, followed by pregnancy are cropping up like mushrooms. Innumerable are cases of adolescent girls who have to stop school due to juvenile pregnancy.

As principled visionaries, we cannot keep dragging a spiral of social gloom. We must no longer be a locomotive but a brake at the end of the train. We cannot be a political and economic giant but a social dwarf. Let?s legalize abortion for the following cases for these explicit reasons:

• For the handicapped who have been forced into a sexual intercourse resulting in an unwanted pregnancy. Let?s face the truth. Many handicapped girls and women do not have a decent living. They are uncared, ill-treated and same are even physically beaten. The psychological torment they suffer is known to them alone. The question is: can such a girl bear pregnancy? Even if somebody volunteers to adopt her baby, imagine the harm we do to her by separating her from her child. Understandably enough, if she doesn?t want the baby, she must be given the right to abort.

• Incest stories are common in all rungs of society. Morality is sinking at rocket speed. So many incest stories have been revealed. Undeniably enough, we are aware of only the tip of the iceberg. The self-centeredness of excessive scrupulousness of any functional family may be shattered by this dark plague, which is incest. Any man or woman of up-standing character or even a child who understands human life will condemn incest. Let?s dab our eyes with a tissue to see clearer. Consider a mother and a daughter having the same man as husband. Consider a woman having a son who is father of her daughter?s baby. Which woman on this planet earth would enjoy being in the place of that woman? Ask yourself this question. Remember Shiva and Shakti, remember the yin and the yang, the two elements so harmoniously combined in you. Answer now!

Once again consider two women who have similar problems, the rich one who solves her problem overnight and the other poor one who keeps knocking on closed doors. This is where the authority should intervene. The pus has to be drained. How to nurse such wounds is another issue, which requires a good deal of homework.

• Fetuses resulting from incestuous relations must be aborted. Look around please! See the number of handicapped children born out of marriages of close cousins. Nature in her wisdom has not made provision for such union. Think of the trials and tribulations of those parents who have handicapped children. You cannot afford the luxury of being insensitive when all your children are normal. Are we not all bound together by the golden thread of humanity?

Independent courts, political institutions, markets, a free press, a middle class are not enough to make a liberal society and bread-and-butter issues do not matter so deeply to the lives of citizens. What matters most is to find an exit strategy for the most pressing needs of the vulnerable ones. We have to act justly and quickly where sluggish bureaucracy has no place. That will set the benchmark for our human progress.

We do not want a repetition of the abortion issues experienced by certain developed countries. We need to give maximum respect to life, safeguarding the dignity of women and their religious beliefs. It requires a handful of reformist technocrats to design a plan that gives a just and instant solution to the abortion issue. We simply have to cooperate and embrace a positive vision of what our nation can become.

Pramila KHADUN