South Africa – Abortion: The good, the bad and the unsafe

Zandile Khumalo
11 March 2024

"ABORTION will happen whether society believes it or not, but we need to make sure that women stay alive." This is what activist and founder of Abortion Support South Africa, Gaopalelwe Phalaetsile, said amid the continued existence of illegal abortions.

As the world celebrated International Women’s Day on 8 March, Daily Sun rings the alarm on backstreet abortions, challenges in accessing legal pregnancy terminations and the stigmas that still exist.

Continued: https://www.snl24.com/dailysun/news/illegal-abortions-persist-despite-risks-and-activist-gaopalelwe-phalaetsile-raises-awareness-20240311


South Africa – The abortion rights defender using social media to educate mothers

Saturday, January 20, 2024

In the educational manual Abortion Services and Reproductive Justice in Rural South Africa, the vast nation is listed 10th in the world’s murder rankings, with 45 daily killings on average.

South Africa is the global leader in violence against women, with a woman or girl, reported raped every four minutes, and every eight hours a woman is murdered by her male partner.

Continued: https://nation.africa/kenya/news/gender/the-abortion-rights-defender-using-social-media-to-educate-mothers-4496686


South Africa – Millions of rand go down the drain as state resources used for illegal abortion industry

Dec 10, 2023
Ntando Makhubu

AS South Africa sits on the edge of disaster resulting from the effects of unsafe abortions, communities and health experts have said what was devastating was the reality that not only were women and young girls endangering their lives by going the illegal route, but the real tragedy was the involvement of state officials, who supplied those who performed terminations and made millions from the illegal procedures.

This despite the country having put into place the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act in 1996, which allows women the right to safe abortions in hospitals and doctors’ rooms, up to 20 weeks of pregnancy to ensure safety and in keeping with the World Health Organisation’s prescripts.

Continued: https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/news/millions-of-rand-go-down-the-drain-as-state-resources-used-for-illegal-abortion-industry-0c8b9d44-bf19-4596-8e43-14459a7b562b


South Africa: How poor service in the public sector is pushing women to ‘backstreet’ abortion

Posted by Ndivhuwo Mukwevho
Oct 18, 2023

In April 2022, *Grace Langa went to Frontier Hospital in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape for an abortion. “At first I went to the hospital on a Monday. I was told that they only perform abortions on Wednesdays.

“I went there again on Wednesday but they said that I had to come back the following week as they only take 20 abortion patients a day,” she recalls. Finally, Langa went back to the hospital the following week and got an ultrasound to see how far along her pregnancy was.

Continued: https://health-e.org.za/2023/10/18/ec-case-study-how-poor-service-in-the-public-sector-is-pushing-women-to-backstreet-abortion/


South Africa – Unsafe abortions continue to proliferate due to a lack of knowledge, stigma and nurses’ attitudes

Noxolo Majavu
28 Sep 2023

Despite safe medical abortion services being offered for free in public health facilities, the number of backdoor abortions being performed, especially on teenagers, is increasingly escalating as bogus doctors profit from the desperation of young women.

The scarcity of nurses and skill shortages, along with the lack of knowledge and the stigma around abortion, are among the reasons young people still opt for terminating pregnancies through illegal abortions at backdoor clinics.

Continued: https://www.news24.com/citypress/news/unsafe-abortions-continue-to-proliferate-due-to-a-lack-of-knowledge-stigma-and-nurses-attitudes-20230928


South Africa – ‘It was just another abortion’

June 29, 2023
Nicola Daniels

While sitting and queuing for hours to have a legal abortion, she felt scared and confused. Some girls were crying, some left the facility because they felt alone, and the staff didn’t care about their feelings or stories.

It was “just another abortion”.

This was the experience of a young woman who underwent an abortion at a local hospital this year. She asked to remain anonymous for her safety.

Continued: https://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/news/it-was-just-another-abortion-d2699620-2834-4941-998c-dcd5df2d44e6


South Africa – TMH now offers reproductive health care, including safe and legal abortion services

The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy guidelines estimated at least 50% of all abortions were still done by informal, illegal and unsafe providers.

March 17, 2023
Fanie Mthupha 

Finally, the Tambo Memorial Hospital boasts a Women’s Health Clinic after not having had the service for decades.

The newly opened clinic, to be officially launched today, is located within the institution, and offers, among other things, family planning, choice on termination of pregnancy (CTOP) services and post-termination of pregnancy care services, which include counselling by a psychologist or social worker to ensure clients cope with post-termination issues.

Continued: https://boksburgadvertiser.co.za/464580/tmh-now-offers-reproductive-health-care-including-safe-and-legal-abortion-services/


South Africa – Eastern Cape man caught selling abortion pills sentenced

Published Dec 9, 2022

Cape Town – An Eastern Cape man arrested after selling abortion pills to community members has been sentenced in the East London Magistrate’s Court.

Julius Kintu, 36, was convicted on charges of contravening the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act.

Continued: https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/eastern-cape/eastern-cape-man-caught-selling-abortion-pills-sentenced-5856ecab-838d-464d-9e1f-f2b85296f2df


South Africa – The challenges of accessing abortion clinics

Published Oct 19, 2022

Johannesburg - Pregnancy can be an exhilarating time for many while for others, it sinks them deep into depression, with the children at times unwanted.

For those women who feel they are not ready for the responsibility that comes with parenting, abortion becomes the only option or at times, the only solution.

Continued: https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/news/africa/the-challenges-of-accessing-abortion-clinics-81eeb901-e5d7-4f18-bb28-1406d62329d1


Telemedicine increases access to safe abortion care

28 SEPTEMBER 2022
NIÉMAH DAVIDS

Ground-breaking research into accessing safe abortion services in South Africa has revealed that telemedicine abortion is safe and effective, and a viable alternative to the conventional medical procedure, especially for women in under-resourced settings.

Scientists drew these and other conclusions after completing the world’s first randomised control trial (RCT) into the efficacy of telemedicine abortion – a medication-based abortion that generally relies on a two-drug combination and is aimed at women in their first trimester. The study was a joint collaboration between academics at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the Karolinska Institutet – a research-led medical university in Stockholm, Sweden.

Continued: https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2022-09-28-telemedicine-increases-access-to-safe-abortion-care