According to sources, 71 percent of nearly 200,000 abortions in Ghana recorded in 2017 are illegal
Stakeholders in the health sector are calling on the government and non-governmental partners to reduce the burden of unsafe abortion by educating the public on the country’s abortion laws.
Abortion is permissible in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormality or disease, or defilement of a child, or if they are performed to protect physical or mental health according to the 1992 constitution.
However, such persons are to receive medical attention from registered and trained personnel in an approved health facility.
However, stakeholders are requesting the findings on research conducted in 2017 to ascertain the incidence of abortions in Ghana.
Dr. Easmon Otupiri, School of Public Health, KNUST, said many women in Ghana seek illegal abortions.
These unsafe abortions according to her, contributes substantially to Ghana’s high maternal mortality, which is estimated at 310 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2017.
Dr. Sarah Keogh, a Senior Research Scientist, Guttmacher Institute, said nationally, 70.8 percent of all abortions done in Ghana are illegal.
He said, efforts to expand access to safe abortion services is unfortunate adding that, 71 percent of the nearly 200,000 abortions in Ghana recorded in 2017 are illegal.
