South Africa: Women and girls risk unsafe abortions after being denied legal services
31 January 2017, 19:28 UTC
Women and girls risk unsafe abortions that can lead to serious health complications, and even death, due to persistent barriers to legal abortion services, according to research by Amnesty International and the Women’s Health Research Unit of the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town.
The briefing published today highlights how despite South Africa having one of the world’s most progressive legal frameworks for abortion, many women and girls - especially those in the poorest and most marginalized communities - struggle to access safe abortion services. A key barrier is the failure of the government to regulate the practice of ‘conscientious objection’ through which health professionals can refuse to provide abortion services.
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Source, Amnesty International: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/01/south-africa-women-and-girls-risk-unsafe-abortions-after-being-denied-legal-services/