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How to make abortion safe and legal in Africa

DW, 01 Oct 2022
Africa is the riskiest place for a woman to have an abortion, with the highest rate of abortion-related deaths in the world. This week, campaigners around the continent attended marches to demand access to safe abortion care. In many African countries, abortions are either illegal, restricted or stigmatized. Still, they are common but often clandestine. This endangers women's lives and health. That's why rights groups say safe abortions are the way forward.
In Nalerigu, northern Ghana, some women have been speaking to DW.
What campaigners are calling for, safe abortion, can be defined as the termination of a pregnancy by a "trained provider" in "sanitary conditions" using "modern techniques."
In Nigeria, for example, nearly half of all abortions that women get are unsafe, partly because terminating a pregnancy is only legal if the mother’s life is in danger. DW’s Amaka Okoye met two young women who are suffering because they couldn't get safe abortions.
South Africa has arguably the most liberal abortion laws on the continent. Despite this, more than half of all abortions there are still unsafe, endangering women's lives. One nurse is trying to change this.

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#Africa #Abortion #WomensHealth
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