![]() It’s often considered faster and easier to get an illegal abortion in South Africa’s poor townships because of the secrecy and anonymity provided. It’s one of several issues, including stigma attached to cultural and religious beliefs, driving women to seek unsafe - and sometimes deadly - backstreet procedures. That’s despite legislation having been in place for 20 years which allows them to walk into a public hospital or clinic, confirm their pregnancy and gestation period, and receive a free abortion if they are less than 13 weeks along.īut according to Leading Safe Choices, more than 40 per cent of designated abortion clinics in the South Africa refuse to provide the service on religious or cultural grounds. ![]() A investigation has revealed that some illegal operators perform abortions on women as far as six months pregnant.Ī 2012 study suggests that approximately 63 per cent of all abortions performed in South Africa are unsafe, causing about 26 per cent of all maternal deaths in the country. The terminations are achieved without any pre-screening and in unhygenic conditions that don’t meet medical standards. In South Africa, where an estimated 150,000 women risk dangerous and illegal abortions every year, business is booming for the criminals who often masquerade as doctors. Nearly half of the estimated 56 million abortions performed worldwide every year are unsafe and women in poor countries face even higher risks, according to a new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Guttmacher Institute. It’s one of hundreds like it plastered around the cities and shanty towns of South Africa, where the majority of citizens live below the poverty line. The advertisement includes a phone number and guarantees “same day” procedures. “SAFE abortions - pain free,” one flyer stuck to a tin shack reads.
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