The Youth Desk Officer of Ipas-Ghana Cynthia Tawiah has revealed that, a number of pastors wives in Ghana sometimes visit health facilities that provides abortion care to terminate their unwanted pregnancies.
According to her, it is erroneous for society to criminalize and demonize safe abortion care since it is confined in the laws of Ghana and permitted under certain circumstances.
In an interview with Kasapa News at the sidelines of a presser held in Koforidua on Thursday, by the IPAS Ghana Youth Advisory Board,Cynthia Tawiah stated that, “many young ladies are dying because of unsafe abortion, society stigma has also made even safe comprehensive abortion care ” criminal” but i can tell you that a number of Pastors wives sometimes do abort their unwanted pregnacies. They do visit one of our providers who is also wife of a pastor ,for termination of their pregnancies”.
Ipas -Ghana has urged government to make comprehensive abortion care affordable and accessible for the youth in Ghana to help reduce the high rate of unsafe abortion related deaths in the country.
It is estimated that, over 47,000 women die each year due to unsafe abortion and its accounts for 11% of maternal deaths in Ghana.
Addressing the media, the Communication and Advocacy Chairman of IPAS Ghana’s Youth Board, Philip Duah recommended strongly for “increase in access to family planning services for all” with a hope that ” safe and affordable abortion care will someday become a reality for everyone adding that ” as a fundamental human right, all women everywhere should have access to reproductive Health and Family Planning services including safe abortion. ”
According to IPAS Ghana Youth Advisory Board, although Ghana’s abortion law is considered relatively liberal, the criminalization of abortion, coupled with traditional values, social perceptions and religious teachings, has created a situation where quacks and charlatans take advantage to carry out abortion in clandestine and life – threatening manner.
“Under the laws of Ghana,certain conditions allow a woman or girl to have a safe abortion.This can be done by a well trained health service provider in most government health facilities. These are;rape, incest mental health reasons, a minor who is pregnant, when the pregnancy would put the woman’s life in Danger, when the pregnancy would cause a serious diseases or deform the baby ” adding that studies have shown that ” lack of or inaccurate information is primary reason why young women tends to seek abortion services later than adults” IPAS is therefore calling for intensify awareness creation ” the fight to remove restrictions on family planing , safe abortion services and other reproductive rights is a collective responsibility which the youth must collectively work to educate those who are not informed ,misinformed, socially or ethically marginalized and isolated in society then we will have more young people dying each year out of unsafe abortion”