As in Namibia, it is difficult to obtain information about abortion in Botswana, as strict restrictions are in place on access to abortion and abortion. However, the website of the Botswana Family Welfare Association (BOFWA) provides more information about legal abortion services in the country. In South Africa, a woman of any age can have an abortion on request without giving reasons if she is less than 12 weeks pregnant. If she is 13 to 20 weeks pregnant, she may have an abortion if (a) her own physical or mental health is at stake, (b) the baby has severe mental or physical abnormalities, (c) is pregnant because of incest, (d) she is pregnant because of rape, or (e) she personally believes that their economic or social situation is sufficient grounds for an abortion. If she is more than 20 weeks pregnant, she can only have an abortion if her life or that of the fetus is in danger or if there are probably serious birth defects. [2] Medical aids must cover abortion as it is listed as a mandatory minimum benefit by the Medical Plans Board. Check with your medical support for more information. Since the CTOPA amendment in 2008, abortion services in South Africa can only be provided by: The most common brand name for abortion pills in South Africa is Cytotec. Here`s what Cytotec abortion pills look like: The costs shown here reflect a bottom-up approach to costing, meaning they may not reflect the cost of these services if they are provided in accordance with national or provincial guidelines. In fact, nurses at the facility reported difficulties complying with abortion guidelines due to stigmatization of ultrasound service providers in facilities, lack of resources, and poor maintenance of hospital equipment.

If you have had a surgical abortion, you should be given antibiotics to prevent infections and painkillers to help you cope with the discomfort afterwards. The facility you are going to must also have a recovery room where you can be monitored before returning home. Marion says that after talking to people from queer rights organizations and some health care providers, there doesn`t seem to be any problem providing abortions to those whose gender identity is different from the one they were assigned at birth. Table 5 shows the total cost of abortions performed during the operational research study, as well as the cost-effectiveness results. More was spent on medical abortion procedures than on AMV procedures, simply because more women were having medical abortion procedures. The average cost of a complete/uncomplicated medical abortion was $61.06 and the average cost of a complete/uncomplicated motor vehicle accident was $69.60. For a failed procedure with hospitalization due to complications, the cost per full medical abortion was $164.47. The cost per complete abortion was $64.06 for medical abortion and $69.60 for AMV. The total health care cost to provide 1,129 abortions in the first trimester during the 16-month study period was $73,833. However, a 2019 News24 article reported that prices at Marie Stopes (an organization that provides abortion services and information) started at R800, which is currently reportedly $48.31.

It seems that abortion prices in the country vary greatly depending on the institution that provides abortion services, as well as the pregnancy. These cost fluctuations can be dangerous. In fact, according to the International Women`s Health Coalition, South Africa has faced numerous situations where unqualified practitioners who claimed to be qualified performed abortion procedures for as little as $6.50. These procedures are not recommended because their methods often lead to health complications. However, because many women do not know where to get accurate information about safe abortion services, they opt for these procedures. Other studies have reported on the cost of medical and surgical approaches to post-abortion care. Vlassoff et al. (2012) reported that the cost of treating postabortion complications in Ethiopia ranged from (US 2008) $23.69 for evacuation with MVA to $153.15 for management of uterine perforation. The average cost of treating complications after abortion was $30.69 [45].

In 2015, Vlassoff et al. reported that the direct medical cost of treating postabortion complications in Rwanda (USD 2010) was $47.05 [46]. For this study, we assumed that the cost of treating complications was equal to the published cost of (USD 2015) $195 for nighttime hospitalizations with a gynecological procedure in an operating room. This was probably an overestimate, but with minimal impact in this analysis due to low complications and hospitalization rates. MA = medical abortion, MVA = manual vacuum aspiration, UFLD = loss for follow-up NB: Unscheduled visits to MA women may have occurred before or after the scheduled follow-up visit. For the sake of simplicity, they are all shown here before the next visit. Don`t feel alone when considering a safe abortion. Learn about other women`s experiences with abortion and share your own abortion story to empower others.

Is it possible to have a safe abortion in South Africa? What does the law say and where can you have an abortion in South Africa? Here we describe your rights if you want an abortion in South Africa, the different procedures, side effects and costs. Read more about Marie Stopes, South Africa`s leading organization for safe abortion and sexual health. The Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act legalizes abortion in South Africa. But the rules of when you can get an abortion and who can perform it depend on how far your pregnancy progresses. You can find your nearest local clinic and find out if they perform abortions. Find out the next steps you can take with Marie Stope`s safe abortion process. A limited number of studies have estimated the cost of legal abortion in low- and middle-income settings. In 2009, Hu et al.

[36] reported that the direct medical costs in Mexico City for hospital motor vehicle crash and clinical medical abortion (misoprostol only) (USD 2005) were $107 and $69, respectively. In 2010, Hu et al. [35] that the direct medical costs of the in-hospital road accident (USD 2007) were $33.11 in Nigeria and $14.58 in Ghana. The same study showed that clinical medical abortion (misoprostol alone) cost $16.40 in Nigeria and $4.17 in Ghana. In both articles, Hu et al. discussed the importance of the framework of health workers performing the procedure in different types of facilities as an important factor in determining costs. In South Africa, nurses offer procedures in the first trimester, whether performed in a hospital or clinic, and staff costs were the largest component of average procedure costs in this study. Questions in South Africa about the proportion of women who would consider abortion and the proportion of those who might opt for medical abortion led to a survey of the effects of the variation in rates observed in the study.

The simultaneous reduction in eligibility and selection for medical abortions to 50% resulted in a 0.7% increase in the cost of full medical abortions due to the decline in the volume of services. At the higher end of the cost spectrum, a 2012 Pambazuka News article reported that legal abortions in Zimbabwe can cost up to $350 (12). Apart from the fact that the costs are high and the abortion laws are very strict, abortion is also highly stigmatized in the country. These factors have led to unsafe abortions becoming very common. Up to 70,000 are performed each year and many are performed by unqualified practitioners, leading to health complications. There are two types of safe abortions depending on the stage of your pregnancy: Medical abortion is for you if you are 5 to 9 weeks pregnant. Abortion is legal in South Africa under the Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act 1996 (CTOPA) and amendments to the same Act 2008. Medical abortions are available in licensed public and private institutions. Despite the existence of these relatively liberal abortion laws, access to abortion services has been hampered by competing health priorities such as HIV/AIDS and a high number of conscientious objectors who have continued to spread the stigma of abortion.1 This analysis supports the expansion of medical abortion alongside existing AMV services in South Africa.