The Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act gives women the right to have safe and legal terminations.

APPLYING FOR TERMINATION

To apply for an abortion the woman should:

• Ask her doctor to refer her to a hospital or clinic where terminations take place
• Go to a non-profit clinic that assists women with advice and care on issues around pregnancy and reproduction
• Go to the hospital in her area that the government has set aside to do terminations (called ‘designated hospitals’)
• Go to the nearest doctor or nurse at the local primary health care clinic
• Consult a counselor at a community centre
• Visit a social worker in her district

Sometimes healthcare workers do not give women the right information because they think that it is wrong for a woman to terminate her pregnancy. At other times, healthcare workers have forced pregnant women living with HIV or AIDS to have a termination. This is against the law, as only a woman has the right to decide whether she wants to continue with her pregnancy or not. If this happens to you, you should make a complaint to the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) or the Department of Health.

WHERE WILL THE TERMINATION TAKE PLACE?

The termination will take place at a hospital or clinic that has been authorised to do terminations by the health minister. Social workers, doctors, nurses and midwives will be able to advise a woman where the nearest facility is.

TERMINATION BY HIV-POSITIVE WOMEN

A woman living with HIV or AIDS may apply for a termination, as without treatment there is a nearly 20% risk of infection to her child. It is possible that she may be able to have a termination even after the 20th week of pregnancy. A woman can only have a termination after the 20th week of her pregnancy if a doctor, after discussing it with another doctor or a registered midwife, believes that the pregnancy could be dangerous for the woman or could result in a deformed baby.

CONSENT FOR TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY

The Choice on the Termination of Pregnancy Act says that a woman doesn’t need to ask her husband before she decides to end her pregnancy. Healthcare workers cannot refuse to do a termination because a woman has not told her husband.

TERMINATION FOR A GIRL UNDER THE AGE OF 18 YEARS

The law says that a young woman under 18 may apply for a termination without the knowledge or consent of her parents. Doctors and midwives should advise her to discuss this with her parents, but they cannot force her to do this. Healthcare workers cannot refuse to terminate her pregnancy if she does not want to discuss her decision with her parents.