HEALTH MATTERS: Access to Legal and Safe Abortion

By Esther Akinmade

If you’re thinking about having an abortion, you’re not alone. 

Millions of people face unplanned pregnancies every year, and about 4 out of 10 of them decide to get an abortion. Some people with planned pregnancies also get abortions because of health or safety reasons. People have abortion for different  reasons.  Overall, 1 in 4 women will have an abortion by the time they’re 45 years old.

Sometimes, the decision is simple. Other times, it’s complicated. But either way, the decision to have an abortion is personal, and you’re the only one who can make it. Everyone has their own unique and valid reasons for having an abortion and equally has the right  to legal and safe abortion . 

PICTURE OF  A FETUS

The society need to know that deciding to have an abortion doesn’t mean you don’t want or love children. 

In fact, 6 out of 10 people who get abortions already have kids — and many of them decide to end their pregnancies so they can focus on the children they already have. And people who aren’t already parents when they get an abortion often go on to have a baby later, when they feel they are in a better position to be a good parent. The bottom line is, deciding if and when to have a baby is very personal, and only you know what’s best for you and your family

Abortions include various clinical conditions such as spontaneous and induced abortion (both viable and non-viable pregnancies), incomplete abortion and intrauterine fetal demise.

Abortions are safe if they are done appropriately to the pregnancy duration and if the person providing or supporting the abortion is trained. Such abortions can be done using tablets (medical abortion) or a simple outpatient procedure.

PICTURE OF UNSAFE ABORTION PROTEST

Mostly, adolescents are usually the victim of unsafe abortion, they most time have lot of fear and they tend to go about it the wrong way. The fear of not ready to be a parent yet, they want to finish school, focus on work, or achieve other goals before having a baby,  they’re not in a relationship with someone they want to have a baby with or the father of the child is not ready to take responsibility, they’re in an abusive relationship or were sexually assaulted, the fetus won’t survive the pregnancy or will suffer after birth.

I had 15 Abortions For My Husband – Woman Tells Court

Unsafe abortion occurs when a pregnancy is terminated either by persons lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards or both. Unsafe abortion procedures may involve the insertion of an object or substance (root, twig, or catheter or traditional concoction) into the uterus; dilatation and curettage performed incorrectly by an unskilled provider; ingestion of harmful substances; and application of external force. In some settings, traditional practitioners vigorously pummel the woman’s lower abdomen to disrupt the pregnancy, which can cause the uterus to rupture, killing the woman.

There are lots of Barriers to accessing safe abortion which include restricted laws, poor availability of services, high cost, stigma of the conscientious objection of health-care providers and Unnecessary requirements, such as mandatory waiting periods, mandatory counselling, provision of misleading information, third-party authorization, and medically unnecessary tests that delay care.

We are in an environment where women especially the ‘’non married ones’’ are always skeptical about talking to doctors, nurses, or any medical personnel because of the stigma and the fear of condemnation when its comes to abortion.

PICTURE OF ABORTION PILL

Same goes to buying of pregnancy prevention pills like Postinor-2 and the rest of them in the pharmacy or any drug outlet. I have also heard countless men say they have to travel far from their environment to another environment where they are not known to get condoms, all of these stands as an obstacles for preventing unwanted pregnancy in the first place  before  considering abortion.  Some individuals term to summon courage to the pharmacy, but leave in a hurry failing to ask the pharmacist or doctors appropriate questions and thereby doing things in their own way. Women, including adolescents, with unwanted pregnancies, often resort to unsafe abortion when there are no  access  to safe abortion.

The health impact of abortion depends on whether abortion is performed safely. Pregnancies terminated either by persons lacking the necessary skills and or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards can have devastating physiological, financial, and emotional costs to the woman and her family, as well as to her community at large.

I had 15 Abortions For My Husband – Woman Tells Court

 Complications of unsafe abortion include hemorrhage [ an escape of blood from a rupture vessels], sepsis[the body’s extreme response to infection]   peritonitis[inflammation of the peritoneum] and trauma to the cervix, vagina, uterus, and abdominal organs. Moreover, one in four women who undergo an unsafe abortion is likely to develop temporary or lifelong disability requiring medical care. 

The cost to health systems for treating the complications of unsafe abortion is overwhelming, especially in developing countries.

For the prevention of unsafe abortion and increasing access to quality safe abortion care, the health sector or medical practitioners should provide global technical and policy guidance on the use of contraception to prevent unintended pregnancy, safe abortion, and treatment of complications from unsafe abortion. 

The risk of  unsafe abortion are extremely alarming and life threatening hence the topic.  Every  woman including adolescence has right to safe abortion no matter the reason why the individual wants abortion.

In conclusion, medical professionals should be able to answer any questions, give  expert care, accurate information about all their options, and should give non-judgmental support along the way — no matter what they decide with their pregnancy.