AD1087: Ghanaians support women’s autonomy but are divided on abortion and contraceptives

Most citizens back sex education and letting pregnant girls stay in school.

Maame Akua Amoah Twum
2 Dec 2025

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) remain a critical challenge in Ghana, particularly with regard to teenage pregnancy and access to contraception. Between 2016 and 2020, Ghana recorded 13,444 pregnancies among girls aged 10-14 and 542,131 pregnancies among adolescents aged 15-19 (UNFPA-Ghana, 2022). Teenage pregnancy rates are about twice as high in rural areas as in cities (Mohammed, 2023). Poverty, limited education, and stigma surrounding SRHR continue to restrict access to essential services (Amoadu et al., 2022).

One profound consequence of teenage pregnancy is educational disruption. A study in a suburb of Accra (Chorkor) showed that more than 80% of pregnant schoolgirls drop out permanently (Gyan, 2013), and participants in re-entry programmes often face stigma, a lack of support, and economic hardship.

Continued: https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad1087-ghanaians-support-womens-autonomy-but-are-divided-on-abortion-and-contraceptives/

02.12.2025

Research

public support for abortion

sexual and reproductive health and rights

What to do if your teenage daughter tells you she is pregnant

18th October 2025
by Godfrey George

Hearing the news that a daughter one has raised is now pregnant outside of wedlock is like being pushed underwater.

Your heart flutters, your thoughts scatter, and the room tilts. For many Nigerian parents, that first rush is followed by a harder, lonelier silence: What now? How do I protect my child, keep her safe, and salvage her future?

Teenage pregnancy in Nigeria is not a single problem. It sits at the intersection of poverty, education, culture, health systems, and gendered power. The good news is that a calm, deliberate parental response can change the arc of a young girl’s life.

Continued: https://punchng.com/what-to-do-if-your-teenage-daughter-tells-you-she-is-pregnant/

18.10.2025

India – Rajasthan HC expresses concern over delays in abortion process for rape victims

The court has indicated its intention to establish guidelines for handling abortion cases involving rape survivors.

Rajesh Asnani
13 Jan 2025

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court has expressed grave concern over delays in the abortion process for rape victims, particularly minors, highlighting the lack of awareness and timely information.

The court noted that such delays often put teenage victims at significant risk during childbirth. To address this issue, the court has indicated its intention to establish guidelines for handling abortion cases involving rape survivors. The court has also sought responses from both the Central and State Governments within four weeks.

Continued: https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2025/Jan/13/rajasthan-hc-expresses-concern-over-delays-in-abortion-process-for-rape-victims

13.01.2025

News

abortion and rape

Justice M.M. Shrivastava

Justice Umashankar Vyas

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act

Nigeria – We’re losing our daughters – Akwa Ibom communities lament inadequate FP commodities

December 20, 2024
By Lovina Anthony

The shortfall in the availability of Family Planning commodities and consumables across the primary health facilities in Akwa Ibom State, especially those at the rural communities, has heightened the health risks of women and girls at reproductive age.

A visit by our correspondent to some local government areas in the state revealed an increase in maternal mortality rate, teenage unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion with the attendant poverty rate in those communities.

Continued: https://dailypost.ng/2024/12/20/were-losing-our-daughters-akwa-ibom-communities-lament-inadequate-fp-commodities/

Childhood cut short: Three stories of adolescent pregnancy from Paraguay

28 November 2023
UNFPA

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay – No one seemed to mind when Noelia* got a boyfriend. Nobody in her family said a word, even though her boyfriend was 18 years old and she was just 13.

When Noelia went to see the cardiologist who had cared for her since birth through the public health service, the doctor explained the risk of pregnancy to her, but not how to prevent it. Although her mother accompanied her to medical appointments and knew about her daughter’s relationship, she did not express any concerns. Nor did anyone at school explain sexual abuse or birth control methods to her.

Soon, Noelia stopped going to school. Then she stopped going to the health service. She was pregnant.

Continued: https://www.unfpa.org/news/childhood-cut-short-three-stories-adolescent-pregnancy-paraguay

28.11.2023

Commentary

adolescent pregnancy

Dr. Natalia Kanem

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Kenya – Surviving incest, abortions: Kakamega’s struggle to protect girls

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

By Shaban Makokha

In the tranquil heart of Navakholo, Kakamega, a grim narrative unfolds – once shadowed by the specters of incest, teenage pregnancies, and the haunting tales of unsafe abortion.

Young girls find themselves entangled in pregnancies thrust upon them by older men, some of whom are guardians and relatives.

Continued: https://nation.africa/kenya/news/gender/surviving-incest-abortions-kakamega-s-struggle-to-protect-girls-4418232

How the Supreme Court’s Abortion Decision Left Many Youth Behind

BY ALEX BERG
DECEMBER 20, 2022

After having an abortion two years ago, B (whose name is withheld for privacy) didn’t think much about her experience with the procedure. As a 17 year-old at the time with a couple of months to go before her high school graduation, she “put it out of sight.” That was until June 24, 2022, the day the Supreme Court issued a decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that eliminated the constitutional right to abortion in the United States.

“It really snapped me back into reality from it,” B, now 19, tells Teen Vogue.

Continued: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-the-supreme-courts-abortion-decision-left-many-youth-behind

Teenage girls turn to rat poison as unsafe abortion ‘epidemic’ spirals

Abortion is illegal in Sierra Leone, forcing women to abort unwanted pregnancies via dangerous practices. The consequences can be fatal

By Tom Collins
13 December 2022

Fanella Bola lay against the perimeter walls of a hospital in Sierra Leone and cried at the thought of going through with her pregnancy. The 17-year-old had been turned away from almost every hospital in the capital city of Freetown, where abortion is illegal.

As she dried her tears and prepared to trudge home, the schoolgirl was approached by a market woman who said there was another way.

Continued: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/teenage-girls-turn-rat-poison-unsafe-abortion-epidemic-spirals/

Abortion Bans Skirt a Medical Reality: For Many Teens, Childbirth Is a Dangerous Undertaking

Oct 9, 2022
Sarah Varney, Kaiser Health News

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Maryanna’s eyes widened as the waitress delivered dessert, a plate-sized chocolate chip cookie topped with hot fudge and ice cream.

Sitting in a booth at a Cheddar’s in Little Rock, Maryanna, 16, wasn’t sure of the last time she’d been to a sit-down restaurant. With two children — a daughter she birthed at 14 and a 4-month-old son — and sharing rent with her mother and sister for a cramped apartment with a dwindling number of working lights, Maryanna rarely got out, let alone to devour a Cheddar’s Legendary Monster Cookie.

Continued: https://www.physiciansweekly.com/abortion-bans-skirt-a-medical-reality-for-many-teens-childbirth-is-a-dangerous-undertaking/

Malawi – 669 unsafe abortions out of 4123 teenage pregnancies raise alarm in Phalombe

Apr 19, 2022
Chikondi Magalasi

Phalombe North East Parliamentarian Dennis Namachekecha has bemoaned an increase in unsafe abortions among teenage girls in the district as health office’s report indicate that 669 unsafe abortions were conducted in 2021 alone.

The district’s Youth Friendly Health Services (YFHS) office report indicate that in 2021 there were 4123 teenage pregnancies that were registered out of this 669 unsafely aborted their pregnancies.

Continued: https://malawi24.com/2022/04/19/669-unsafe-abortions-out-of-4123-teenage-pregnancies-raise-alarm-in-phalombe/