The
Bill
had
passed
through
the
National
Assembly,
but
the
Senate
turned
it
down
after
traditional
leaders
said
they
could
not
approve
of
a
practice
that
runs
against
customs.
Clause
11
proposed
major
changes
to
the
country’s
abortion
laws,
including
allowing
terminations
on
request
up
to
20
weeks,
letting
minors
undergo
the
procedure
without
parental
consent,
removing
the
requirement
to
notify
a
spouse,
and
allowing
a
single
medical
practitioner
to
approve
a
termination.
The
traditional
leaders,
led
by
the
deputy
president
of
the
National
Chiefs
Council,
Fortune
Charumbira,
strongly
opposed
the
proposal.
Health
and
Child
Care
Deputy
Minister
Sleiman
Kwidini
said
the
ministry
had
not
been
aware
of
the
clause,
claiming
it
had
not
been
debated
in
the
National
Assembly.
With
Clause
11
removed,
the
Bill
has
been
sent
back
to
the
National
Assembly
for
consideration
of
the
Senate’s
amendments.
Chief
Charumbira
questioned
why
Deputy
Minister
Kwidini’s
Second
Reading
speech
made
no
mention
of
Clause
11,
which
had
been
included
in
the
Bill
presented
to
the
Senate.
Midlands
traditional
leader
Chief
Ngungumbane
supported
Charumbira’s
stance,
saying
they
backed
Clauses
1–10
but
opposed
Clause
11.
He
said:
“Clause
11,
we
would
like
to
find
out
from
the
minister
whether
it
was
an
omission,
deliberate
or
otherwise,
because
I
fear
that
if
we
pass
these
and
leave
that
clause
unattended,
it
will
be
passed
on
a
technicality.“If
the
minister
could
clarify
whether
Clause
11
is
within
the
Bill,
because
from
the
copies
we
received,
there
were
amendments
made
in
the
National
Assembly,
adopted
and
passed,
and
surprisingly,
they
came
to
the
Senate.”
In
response,
Deputy
Minister
Kwidini
said
he
and
his
team
were
just
as
surprised
by
the
clause.
He
explained
that
during
the
First
Reading
in
the
National
Assembly,
there
was
no
Clause
11
—
the
Bill
originally
had
10
clauses
and
ended
at
Clause
10.
After
further
deliberations,
Deputy
Minister
Kwidini
moved
to
delete
Clause
11
from
the
Bill,
a
motion
that
was
adopted
before
it
passed
through
the
Senate.
The
Bill
has
now
been
sent
back
to
the
National
Assembly,
with
Speaker
of
Parliament
Jacob
Mudenda
notifying
the
House
of
its
return.
Said
Mudenda:
“I
have
received
the
Medical
Services
Amendment
Bill
[H.B.
6B,
2024]
from
the
Senate
with
an
amendment.“Accordingly,
in
terms
of
Standing
Order
Number
119,
the
Bill
shall
be
recommitted
to
the
committee
of
the
whole
House
for
the
purposes
of
considering
the
said
amendment.”
Among
other
measures,
the
Bill
proposes
that
private
hospitals
must
get
Government
approval
before
raising
service
charges
and
are
legally
required
to
admit
patients
in
life-threatening
conditions
for
at
least
48
hours,
even
if
they
cannot
pay
upfront.