The Gluttmacher Institute in US recently did some research in Ghana and discovered that ten percent of pregnancy-related deaths were due to unsafe abortions. Health experts say that insufficient facilities and the lack of law awareness are the factors to blame for these deaths.

Abortion has been declared legal in Ghana as early as 1985. The law states that any woman who has been the victim of rape and incest has the right to undergo an abortion. The law also extends to women whose pregnancies would only cause them mental or physical harm. Despite the legalization of abortion, it seems that only very few women are aware of this law.

In fact, even some health care providers and women’s groups were also unaware of the law. Needless to say, awareness of this abortion law is extremely important especially in a country like Ghana where a lot of females admit to seeking abortion simply because they do not have the financial stability to raise a child. Even though most of these women approached doctors and hospitals for the procedure, almost half still preferred to look for alternative solutions, such as medications or midwives. Needless to say, these non-medical procedures can have health dangers which, in many cases, have resulted to the death of the patient.

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