Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, Health, Abortion, Population, Gender, UGANDA:
Lack of knowledge fuels illegal abortions

11/15/2012 4:29:48 AM Reprint | | Print |

KAMPALA - The issue of unsafe abortions is a growing concern among young people in Uganda, says Moses Mulumba, executive director of the Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development. - Every day at least five women are brought to Uganda’s Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala for treatment for complications caused by crude attempts to terminate their pregnancies.

These women are a small percentage of the estimated 150,000 women who suffer complications from unsafe abortions each yea and an estimated 1,200 who die annually from unsafe abortion attempts.

Elisa Slatterly, Africa division director of the Centre for Reproductive Health Rights says there is still a widespread perception that all abortions are illegal in the country.

According to Slatterly, greater knowledge of the law’s interpretation could reduce unsafe abortion rates, not just by allowing access to women who legally qualify, but by reducing the stigma around the issue. /IPS (END//2012)

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