0217_COS_054_057_SA Reportindd 1 20161219 1138 AM 0217_COS_054_057_SA Reportindd 2 20161219 1139 AM

00 Cosmopolitan | march 2017

love lUst

cosmopolitancoza

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South AfricArsquoS

Abortion Crisis

This monTh marks 20 years since aborTion was firsT legalised in souTh africa making The aborTion law among The mosT

progressive in The world so why Two decades on are 150 000 souTh african women a year risking dangerous

and illegal aborTions in backsTreeT clinics by Aoife stuArt-MAdge

Therersquos a lot I canrsquot tell you about babawal I canrsquot tell you her real name the township shersquos from or what she does for a living But I can tell

you that when she was 20 she went to a backstreet clinic in Johannesburg for an illegal abortion ndash without telling her family and friends

Babawal knew the moment she fell pregnant that she couldnrsquot have a baby She was in her second year at varsity ndash something her strict Christian parents had made sacrifices to make happen She knew she couldnrsquot break their hearts by derailing her studies lsquoHaving a baby at that time would have

Babawalrsquos boyfriend drove her to the clinic but once inside she immediately felt uneasy lsquoThe whole atmosphere was uncomfortablersquo she says Her boyfriend was asked to pay cash upfront before Babawal was taken to a small room lsquoI was given a pill and left alone to wait for the foetus to loosen and detach before they could use instruments to remove itrsquo she says lsquoAfter an hour another woman took me to a dark room at the back of the house I remember being told to get on a bed and open my legs Then an instrument was placed in me to remove the foetus I was terrified All I could do was close my eyes and wait for it to go away The pain was the worst part I have honestly never felt pain like that in my entire life I didnrsquot even know whether I would be able to walk again I cried throughout the whole thing much to the annoyance of the woman

report

her termination had no medical training and was unqualified to carry out the procedure or prescribe medication She was a criminal more interested in fast cash than in Babawalrsquos mental or physical wellbeing The clinic was not a medical facility but a rented house that served as a front for one of a growing number of illegal cash-for-abortion outfits popping up around inner cities

According to global reproductive health group Marie Stopes International between 52 and 58 of the estimated 260 000

abortions that take place in South

Stopes South Africa an organisation abortion secretly without the risk of her that offers safe legal abortions lsquoIt is family finding out She didnrsquot have to heartbreaking to hear what Babawal

and engagement manager for Marie finding a clinic that would perform the

So she took matters into her own says Andrea Thompson advocacy hands and using the Internet set about

the clinicrsquos mobile-phone number has Besides to do so meant confiding been switched off or changed after in her family doctor and risk being she has attended lsquoThese fly-by-night judged ndash or worse her parents finding providers who women contact either out lsquoI was very ashamedrsquo she says via text or online often disappear lsquoItrsquos difficult to face people you know when itrsquos time to assist further or to or people who know your parents provide basic aftercare or deal with knowing they will frown upon yoursquo clinical complications that may arisersquo

itrsquos not unusual for a patient to discover abortion under South African law

By the time Babawal found out she ties with a patient the second she leaves was pregnant she was four months the clinic With no land line to contact along ndash barely eligible to seek a legal

These clinics offer no aftercare (Babawal and ambitions and having a baby was sent home the same day with a was not part of thosersquo she says sanitary pad and an aspirin) and sever

infertility and in extreme cases death great as he was he had his own plans

include complications such as infection lsquoI fell in love with a great guy ndash but as

with devastating consequences that was definitely not ready to be a father

devastated them ndash not to mention I was who was doing the procedurersquo

masquerading as medical practitioners abortions are carried out by criminals Africa every year are illegal These

a human beingrsquo says Babawal now 29

lsquoI remember beIng told to get on a bed and open my legs then an instrument

was plaCed in me to remove the Foetus

I was terrIfIedrsquo

nowhere near ready to be a mother to

Similarly her boyfriend at the time

look far Johannesburg is awash with billboards and flyers advertising discreet lsquoquick pain-free same-dayrsquo abortions When she picked a clinic she called the mobile number and was told to bring R800 in cash

CosmopolitanCoza

Far from the straightforward termination procedure South African women are entitled to by law Babawal endured a living nightmare ndash which

eventually led to her suffering a nervous breakdown Nine years later shersquos still struggling to come to terms with the horror of that day You see the clinic that Babawal went to was operating illegally and the woman performing

went through and that she didnrsquot have the support of a clinical expert to guide her through the processrsquo

Babawal is one of the lsquoluckyrsquo ones her ordeal could have been much worse According to Thompson

February 2017 | cosmopolItan 55

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0217_COS_054_057_SA Reportindd 3 20161219 353 PM 0217_COS_054_057_SA Reportindd 4 20161219 1139 AM

-

rsquo

- rsquo

- rsquo

-

rsquo

lsquoSTIGMA IS AT THE ROOT OF MANY OF

THE ABORTION CHALLENGES WE FACE IT OFTEN

IMPACTS A NURSE OR DOCTORrsquoS WILLINGNESS

TO PROVIDE CARErsquo

REPORT Most shocking of all is that these lsquoThe people who work in the local [legal]

unlicensed clinics will perform late- clinics are from the community ndash they stage abortions beyond the legal 20- know your parents and family and you week limit ndash sometimes all the way canrsquot trust them not to tell An illegal up to 40 weeks When we called one

By changing mobile abortion offers secrecy and anonymity

of these clinics purporting to be seven numbers and operating Also because of the stigma associated months pregnant ndash eight weeks past out of secret locations with a pregnancy outside of marriage the legal period for a safe abortion ndash backstreet clinics many girls bury their heads in the sand the person on the phone confirmed manage to avoid about a pregnancy and only choose an they terminate pregnancies up to eight detection by law abortion when theyrsquore too far along months lsquoWe have pills and we have an enforcement The clinic we called to have it done legally Most illegal injection and we have other methods refused to give out its location on the abortion providers wonrsquot ask too many because yoursquore a bit farrsquo they said lsquoBut phone ndash we were told to call a mobile questions about how far along you arersquo

Titrsquos okay I can do it for R1 500 cash You number from outside the Carlton Centre will come in at 9am and you will be in Johannesburg and wait for someone

Changing the status

finished at 5pm You wonrsquot feel a thingrsquo to meet us and escort us to the clinic quo is not easy says Itrsquos a bleak picture ndash one that can Thompson lsquoBut the

he health risks of only change when attitudes towards reality is that illegal late-term abortions abortion change The conversation abortions are having canrsquot be underplayed needs to come out of the backstreets a negative impact on At best the medication is and into the open says Thompson womenrsquos health and in the worst cases ineffective at worst it can lsquoAwareness is key Abortion isnrsquot rare even their life We need to ensure that lead to infertility ectopic or unusual one in three women will women know where they can seek out

pregnancy miscarriage or premature have an abortion in her lifetime The safe services so wersquore working with delivery in subsequent pregnancies more we do to speak openly about it several partners in the sexual and lsquoThe medication given for these later and normalise the experience the easier reproductive health sector to develop abortions is only safe for early it will be for women to hold healthcare a national directory of safe providersrsquo pregnancies according to the World providers accountable for offering In addition to working with Health Organizationrsquo says Thompson quality nonjudgmental servicesrsquo provincial health departments to

complications that can arise So why are so many women risking But breaking the abortion taboo improve access to care ndash including from unsafe abortions include backstreet procedures when by law is a terrifying concept especially training for providers and ensuring severe bleeding uterine perforation theyrsquore entitled to a safe alternative for women in traditional inner- facilities designated to provide services the tearing of the cervix severe lsquoMany women struggle to access city communities where underage are operating and doing so consistently damage to the genitals and the services whether it be because their pregnancy is rife and where abortion ndash Marie Stopes is working with police abdomen internal infection of local clinic isnrsquot operating or the costs is regarded as a dirty word among to clamp down on illegal services But the abdomen and the reproductive

Yare prohibitive or because they fear older generations ndash something Mina that in itself is risky lsquoCrackdowns on

tract pelvic inflammatory disease judgment from the medical staffrsquo says 23 from Port Elizabeth has seen first- unsafe abortion pose a risk of driving and blood poisoning Thompson Despite progressive laws hand lsquoMost traditional members of the women desperate to terminate

to the contrary abortion still remains Xhosa community Irsquom from are religious unwanted pregnancies even deeper ou only have to look at a taboo subject in South Africa with so abortion is an absolute no-norsquo she undergroundrsquo says Thompson lsquoWe the flyers and billboards all of the associated stigma lsquoStigma says lsquoAbortion is seen as evil and need to be very clear about who is freely advertising fast-fix is at the root of many of the abortion immoral ndash as murderrsquo doing something wrong here Women abortions in unregulated challenges we facersquo she explains But the alternative ndash facing life as seeking unsafe abortions are often clinics to see just how lsquoIt often impacts a nurse or doctorrsquos an unmarried mother ndash can be daunting doing so out of misinformation and widespread the problem willingness to provide abortion care for a young Xhosa girl lsquoPregnancy for desperation and we should be careful

is These illegal practices are so overt limiting available services ndash especially an unmarried mother is shameful for not to stigmatise them further The with their marketing you could easily free public-sector services It also her familyrsquo says Mina lsquoSome traditional criminals are the people providing mistake an illegal operation for a legit makes women afraid to access an members of the community might kick surgeries and unregulated medications clinic lsquoDonrsquot be fooled by the term abortion at a formal facility Backstreet their daughter out of home or school in undesignated environments ndash not ldquobackstreet abortionrdquorsquo says Thompson providers may not be safe but because ndash or as soon as you give birth you the women themselvesrsquo lsquoThese individuals are getting more slick they operate on a business model of have to give the baby to the fatherrsquos putting up legitimate-looking websites But women need to know itrsquos not safe money for abortion pills women seek family with little to no contact allowed MArIE SToPES InTErnATIonAl STATISTICS (2012)

and even offering delivery services to simply buy medical abortion pills them out thinking itrsquos simplerrsquo until you can make your own money nAME hAS BEEn ChAngEd

without having a proper consultation and visit the child and provide for itrsquo and assessing the stage of their As a result several of Minarsquos peers pregnancy Itrsquos not safe to have have sought out illegal abortions She a surgical procedure done outside explains the appeal of a hush-hush no-of a proper medical facilityrsquo questions-asked backstreet procedure

56 COSMOPOLITAN | FEBRUARY 2017 COSMOPOLITANCOZA CosmopolitanCoza

Help IrsquomConsIderIngAn AbortIon get the care and help you need

get tHe rIgHt CounsellIng And AdvICe rsaquo lifeline offers counselling to expectant mothers and those wondering whether abortion is an option ( 0861 322 322 Lifelinesacoza rsaquo struggling with anxiety or depression as result of being pregnant unexpectedly or following an abortion Call the south african depression and anxiety group ( 011 234 4837 Sadagorg rsaquo the family and marriage society of south africa also offers counselling and is a good resource for grief support following an abortion ( 011 975 7106

FInd A loCAl government ClInIC rsaquo to have a free abortion the request must be made at a primary healthcare clinic where the pregnancy will be confirmed counselling provided an appointment made and a referral letter be given to a facility where the procedure can be performed rsaquo Visit a local clinic to begin this process and be referred to the right healthcare practitioners By law any appointments and requests must be kept confidential by the professionals you speak to

or try prIvAte IF yoursquod preFer marie stopes clinics are government approved health facilities that specialise in family planning and safe abortion fees are charged in accordance with a client s income bracket ( 0800 117 785 mariestopesorgza

WHAt About tHe mornIng-AFter pIll the morning after pill can be taken up to 72 hours after intercourse it can t be used to facilitate an abortion after this time frame if you miss the 72 hour window you ll need to enquire about an abortion at your primary healthcare clinic morning after pills are available over the counter at pharmacies and cost about r70 a pharmacist may not legally sell the pill to anyone under the age of 14 without a doctor s prescription or without a parent or legal guardian being present

Are you pregnAnt As A result oF rApe rsaquo People opposing Women abuse offers counselling as well as legal support ( 083 765 1235 powacoza rsaquo rape Crisis offers advice counselling and emotional support Rapecrisisorgza

report IllegAl-AbortIon prACtItIoners report someone anonymously to the authorities by telling your doctor or nurse or giving the details of the practitioner to the police you can also report someone directly to the department of Health on ( 012 395 8000 or 021 466 7260

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