Doctors For Life on Saturday said that the courts have sent a strong message that life should always be protected.

The NGO was referring to a court judgment which saw a woman given a conditional discharge after being charged with abortion.

The pressures that have led this woman to terminate the life of her unborn child must not be underestimated, Doctors for Life said. However, whether a human life is wanted or not is not the criterion by which its value is given. Every human life has intrinsic value, irrespective of the stage of development.

A three-year-old child may be biologically relatively independent from her mother, but is still far off from having completed her growth and development. We have laws that are in place to protect that child. We have also laws in place that protect a child that is much younger and still in the womb.

The courts have sent a clear signal that such protection should be upheld by giving a cautious judgement that has conditionally discharged the mother, but at the same time clearly reminds us that a human life was lost, the NGO said.

Women in crisis pregnancies need to be supported by society and encouraged to explore other options that preserve their dignity without sacrificing human life, the statement concluded.