Unsafe abortion may be life-threatening, warn doctors

Illegal abortion is on the rise and over 70 percent of Mongolian women getting an abortion are aged 20 to 35, reported the Ulaanbaatar Specialized Inspection Agency (USIA) on Thursday.

The agency inspected 46 public and private health organizations providing women’s health services and obstetrics and gynecology care in Ulaanbaatar with the objective to tackle illegal abortion. The majority of inspected organizations were located in Sukhbaatar District, according to USIA.

The following violations were detected during the inspection.

» Operating in locations not described on permit and permit.

» Enkhleg, Suijin, Ach Arvijikh, DLO, and Enkh Munkh Mandal clinics were providing services not specified on their permit and license.

» Byatskhan Gunj, Tsetsegs and Setsengoo clinics were treating, nursing patients, and delivering babies without a license.

Penalties amounting to 2.9 million MNT were charged from four individuals and two doctors.

Head of Specialized Inspection Department in Sukhbaatar District M.Baasandorj stated, “We conducted a thorough inspection on daily operations of hospitals and clinics in Sukhbaatar District. We found some hospitals were licensed but didn’t operate in their approved address and some that didn’t even have a license. We found that some doctors were operating without a license for specialized services too. These are all violations. A violation of interests also arises if women’s doctors get license and start their own clinic while working at public hospitals.”

There are two types of abortion. Medication abortion requires three days while the surgical abortion can take less than five minutes, said D.Tsend-Ayush, head of Health, Education and Culture Inspection Department at USIA.

“Fifty percent of women who get an abortion are likely to face difficulties getting pregnant afterward or even become infertile,” she warned.

The General Agency of Specialized Inspection studied cases where women’s health conditions became complicated after an abortion. Reportedly, there were 21 of these cases in the first eight months of this year.

Four women who got an abortion in Zuun Kharaa, three in Erenhot, three in Narantuul Market, and four more filed a report via the internet.

There were two instances where the wall of the uterus was punctured during an abortion procedure, according to USIA. Hence, specialists advise against abortion if possible due to the complications it may bring. If not, women should make sure to check the license of doctors before getting an abortion and avoid buying abortion pills without a prescription, he said.