No letting up
Practitioners ply their trade in Cathcart Road
THE practise of illegal abortion is flourishing in Queenstown, with posters advertising the services of practitioners being pasted on walls, poles and electricity boxes in the central business district.
This practice has raised the ire of locals who have raised the issue with The Rep, indicating that the defacing of the town’s infrastructure was causing it to become unsightly.
The Rep called a number on one of the posters and a man, who did not want to identify himself, said the abortions were “100% safe.”
The man, who said he worked in the Queenstown central business district, said that a pregnancy could be “terminated at any stage” for a fee of R1 000.
A successful abortion took about two hours, he said, but declined to give full details of his surgical methods or address, agreeing only to meet near a retail store in town.
A second man contacted by The Rep said he put up posters advertising his services on a monthly ba- sis.
He said he performed procedures on an average of three women per week.
The man, who struggled to speak English, said he was aware that the operations were illegal.
“I started it not so long ago, about a year perhaps, but I can do it. One has to survive, my brother. Whether I am qualified or not, I can do it. I can help people.”
According to South African law, pregnancies may only be terminated up to 13 weeks without a valid reason.
Abortions may also be legally terminated between 13 and 20 weeks if the woman is pregnant due to incest or rape, if her own physical or mental well-being is at stake, if the baby will have severe mental or physical abnormalities or if the mother’s economic or social state is sufficient reason for termination, according to the Termination of Pregnancy Act (Act 92 of 1996). Only a quali- fied medical doctor (or a nurse who has received specialised training and who may carry out an abortion up to 12 weeks) may perform abortions.
Police spokesman lieutenant Namhla Mdleleni said police could not do anything about such practices unless a case was opened.
“No one has come to open a case with us. Our doors are open, anyone can come forward to give us information.”
Local gynaecologist Dr Nopasika Pinzi said there should be strong laws against the advertising of abortions which were illegal and put people’s lives at risk or interfered with their future fertility prospects.
“People need to be educated about the dangers of illegal abortions. That would close the illegal clinics as they would have no customers.”
An illegal abortion could lead to excessive bleeding, infection, the removal of the woman’s uterus, infertility and damage to other organs.
Commenting on the posting of adverts on infrastructure, an East London practitioner, Seth Wainwright, said people unfortunately used this kind of advertising because it was cheap and easy to put up.
Lukhanji municipal spokesman Fundile Feketshane said advertising in public spaces was governed by law.
Anyone wanting to advertise in such spaces needed to consult with the municipality’s Community Services directorate with fees to be paid.
Currently, it seemed some people did not comply and transgressed the existing by-laws.
Feketshane said that the council would be training compliance officers to deal with the problem.
“We appeal to people to respect the laws so that we can keep our places clean.”
Health department spokesman Siyanda Manana had not commented at the time of going to press.
‘Whether I am qualified or not, I can do it’
A municipal spokesman says they “will train compliance officers to deal with the problem” of advertising posters illegally placed. See story on page 1.