South Africa’s Liberal Abortion Laws Affected by Public Disapproval

 

“Precious” is 26-years-old and 16 weeks pregnant. She asked VOA to call her by that name to protect her identity.

Her best friend is also pregnant by the same man – a man Precious once considered her boyfriend. This information led her to the difficult decision to seek an abortion¹.

Precious lives in South Africa, where such operations are legal. A woman can ask a health care worker to perform an abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy². The woman is not required to provide a reason for the operation. After 12 weeks, she must state a reason and a doctor must be present.

But when Precious tried to end the pregnancy in her home city of Johannesburg, she had a problem.

“When I went to register my name, I simply said, ‘I want to do an abortion,’ and then they said, ‘No,’” she told VOA.

“And there were two nurses there and…one said, ‘no, you have to go back to your place and do it there.’ Then we had a disagreement there, as, like, I’m being against God,” Precious said.

Reproductive health activists³ say an experience like hers is fairly common. They say that is why 10,000 South African women every year have illegal abortions⁴ from unqualified providers.

South African health officials estimated that as many as 25 percent of all maternal⁵ deaths are from infectious miscarriages⁷ caused by illegal abortions. More than half of all abortions in the country are performed by unregistered providers. Yet all government hospitals offer the operation for free.

Precious was fearful that her neighbors would learn she had an abortion. So she chose to travel to the town of Rustenburg, where aid agency Doctors Without Borders operates a medical center that performs abortions for free.

'We give women a choice'

Whitney Chinogwenya works at Marie Stopes, one of South Africa’s best-known private abortion providers. She says the company recently launched a campaign to reduce the stigma⁸ around abortion.

“When a woman wants to terminate a pregnancy, they’re going to terminate the pregnancy,” she told VOA from the company’s office in Johannesburg.

She added that South Africa offers safe, legal and free abortions, but few women know that abortion is legal. They think they must go to an illegal provider.

Medical experts told VOA many stories of poor medical care, including giving patients the wrong medication.

'Somebody has to do it'

Nurse Kgaladi Mphahlele is the head of the Doctors Without Borders project in Rustenburg. He says demand for the group’s services is high. He estimates he performs as many as 100 first-trimester abortions each month. He sees women from as far away as Botswana, where abortion is illegal.

He says he is proud of his decision to perform abortions.

“I look back, ‘why did I get myself into this profession?’” he said. He also said his friends and family support his decision.

Nurse Christa Tsomele has been performing abortions for 10 years. She is also satisfied with her work. She says she thinks some of her coworkers are adding to the stigma of abortion.

“If you can’t help a patient as a nurse… don’t just tell her, ‘no, I can’t do that, or ‘I can’t help you,’ and leave the patient,” she said. She added that patients should be told where to go to get an abortion.

She also says she does not care if people agree with her work. Abortion is legal and she is saving lives, she says.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

nurse – n. someone who cares for the sick

maternal – adj. of a mother

miscarriage⁶ – n. the ending of pregnancy naturally

stigma – n. something that is thought of as very bad

trimester – n. a three-month period in a woman’s pregnancy

proud – adj. feeling extremely pleased

profession – n. a job or occupation

1 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

2 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

5 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

6 miscarriage   

n.失败，未达到预期的结果；流产

参考例句：

• The miscarriage of our plans was a great blow.计划的失败给我们以巨大的打击。
• Women who smoke are more to have a miscarriage.女性吸烟者更容易流产。

7 miscarriages   

流产( miscarriage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Miscarriages are usually caused by abnormal chromosome patterns in the fetus. 流产通常是因为胎儿的染色体异常造成的。
• Criminals go unpunishedareconvicted and are miscarriages of justice. 罪犯会逍遥法外，法律会伤及无辜，审判不公时有发生。

8 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。