Drop in abortions since law passed
- Cummings
Stabroek News
June 16, 2002
There has been a reduction in the incidence of abortions since the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act was passed in 1995, Chief Medical Officer in the Health Ministry, Dr Rudolph Cummings, said last week.
And the Advisory Board (MTPAB) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health held a consultation last week with the aim of coming up with recommendations, which when implemented, will see a further reduction in abortions.
The consultation, which was held under the theme `Enhancing the Quality of Life’ at Cara Inn, saw the participation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), women’s organisation and a variety of social clubs and associations.
The consultation re-examined the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act which was passed in June 1995 and in the opening session Chairman of the MTPAB, Frederick Cox, stressed that there was need for persons to practice safer sex adding that the board did not promote abortion as a form of contraception.
A brief review of the incidence of abortion given by Dr Cummings, revealed that since the passing of the act in 1995, there has been a reduction in abortions in the country.
In 1996, 7,711 abortions were reported. In 1997 there were 6,614; in 1998, 5,591; in 1999, 6,249; in 2000, 6,104; and in 2001, 4,977. The review stated that most of terminations were done in hospitals and about 70% were done before the pregnancy reached the eighth week.
According to the review, about 40% of the women who did abortions were married women and those between the ages of 20-25 and 25-29 did most of the abortions. What was interesting about the review was the revelation that women who were more educated academically, were the ones who did the most abortions. About 90% of the terminations were done without any complications.
Region Four had the highest reported cases of abortion followed by regions - Three, Five and Six.
Outlining the purpose of the consultation, Bishop Juan Edghill, who is a member of the board, said that they wanted to interact with people from the various communities to get a feel of the reality of the situation as it related to abortion in Guyana.
He said they also wanted to discover if the conditions listed in the act under which abortions should be done were really being implemented. The board is expected to compare the incidence before and after the act was passed to determine whether the act is really effective.
Among the regulations in the act is that women who request terminations must be counselled and the person providing the counselling must advise on the available alternatives. Women should also be advised on all the stages of the abortion and on the effect the procedure might have, including psychological effects.
Further, they must be advised on the method of contraception, the availability of family planning services and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.
Edghill said that the board would also seek to establish whether the doctors doing terminations were properly certified and trained since the act states that not every medical practitioner can carry out a termination.
According to Edghill the members of the board have been travelling around the country discussing the abortion issue with the medical practitioners in the regions and one major cause for concern was the use of a drug called Cytotec that was landing many women in hospitals with septic abortions.
He said during discussions over the use of the drug the idea of banning it had popped up as they were told that the drug was used for stomach ailment and there are side effects in using it for abortion. He said at one hospital they were told by the doctor that everyday he saw at least two to three patients with septic abortions as a result the use of the drug.
However, Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, in declaring the consultation open, claimed that Cytotec was one of the most effective methods of abortion. He said that a doctor should administer it. The minister lamented that in many cases women approached pharmacies and were sold the drug without producing a prescription and this is what causes the difficulties.
On another issue the minister noted that in most cases women visited their doctors and tested positive for pregnancy, after which they would tell their doctor that they didn’t want the baby and the abortion is done.
But the minister pointed out that the law states that there must be a waiting period of 48 hours after the woman is counselled before the abortion is done.
According to the minister most doctors reported to the board that they counselled their patients before doing the abortion, but in most cases this is not true. “I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that some of these reports that say that this young lady was counselled is absolute fraud,” the minister said.
The minister said that the act has been a positive one for the country as there has been a reduction of abortions in Guyana.
He said there is need for improving the surveys and reporting which all would have to work on.
Cox yesterday told Stabroek News that at the end of the consultation it was recommended that a system be put in place to ensure that both women and men are given education that would cause them not to use abortion as a means of contraception.
It was also recommended that strategies be introduced to promote positive response to medical termination of pregnancy. Further, it was recommended that the law be revisited from two perspectives, one of, which is shortening the waiting period after counselling, before a woman can decide whether she wants to do an abortion. It was pointed out that sometimes women travelled long distances.
It was also recommended that doctors should be able to do abortions on young girls without the consent of their parents.
Cox said that the board will now have to further discuss these recommendations along with the contributions from the health ministry and other organisations before making a decision.