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PEOPLE FOR LIFE
DINO VALENTA
Vice
Chairman
Pretoria
22 May 1996
Thank you for honouring me by reading
my plea to you. I am very concerned about how the new constitution will be
interpreted concerning
the following two rights.
1. Everyone has the
right to life.
2. Everyone has the right to privacy.
I understand that
it could be interpreted that a mother’s right to privacy can be held
supreme over the right of the unborn
baby to life.
I have a few important
comments to make about this.
- Why
should we discriminate against human beings according to age and affluence.
Have not the youngest and the poorest equal rights
to the rest of
us?
- The
argument of the right to privacy is no longer valid in this case, as there are
now two lives involved. That of the mother and
that of the unborn baby. The
unborn child also has a right to privacy and ending this child’s life by
whatever means is grossly
violating his/her right to privacy and above all
his/her right to life.
All human beings deserve protection, especially the innocent and
defenseless.
True democracy is to defend and uphold the rights of all, without
discrimination. Everyone has a right to life.
An innocent life, whether having been conceived in a relationship of mutual
love or in the case of rape and incest, has rights. Equal
to the rest of us.
This is not an opinion.
Let us not impose our beliefs on the unborn.
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CERTIFICATION OF NEW CONSTITUTIONAL TEXT
28 May 1996
I have been asked by the President of the Court to advise you as follows:
- The
Republic of South Africa Constitution, 1993 - the interim Constitution -
required a new Constitution for South Africa to be adopted
by the Constitutional
Assembly in accordance with 34 Constitutional Principles set out in schedule 4
to the interim Constitution.
- The
Constitutional Court is required in terms of section 71 of the interim
Constitution to certify whether or not the Constitution
adopted by the
Constitutional Assembly complies with the Constitutional
Principles.
- The
Constitutional Court cannot add to, amend or delete any of the provisions of the
Constitution drawn up by the Constitutional Assembly.
The representations made
in your fax dated 22 May that the right to life and/or right to privacy clauses
in the Constitution should
be amended is beyond the power and jurisdiction of
the Court.
- Should
you contend that the Constitution as adopted by the Constitutional Assembly and
submitted the Constitutional Court for certification
does not comply with the
Constitutional Principles set out in schedule 4, you should set out in writing
the particular Constitutional
Principle/s that have not been complied with, and
submit such in writing to me by not later than 31 May 1996. Any such
contentions
will be taken into account by the Constitutional Court when it
decides whether or not the Constitution adopted by the Constitutional
Assembly
complies with the Constitutional Principles.
For your
convenience, we enclose copies of schedule 4 of the Constitution and the
directions given by the President of the Constitutional
Court and draw your
attention especially to the provisions of paragraph 4 of the latter.
MS M NIENABER
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
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