by Ruby Delahunt | May 10, 2024 | News
The prevalence of backstreet abortions in South Africa was a “huge influence” on Marie Stopes’ decision to introduce more accessible payment options.
Marie Stopes has been providing reproductive healthcare to women worldwide for decades and has consistently been seeking ways to expand access to these services in line with their 2030 safe abortion global strategy.
In a new move towards this goal in South Africa, Marie Stopes announced a brand-new credit payment system for all their services, including abortions. The announcement caused a stir on social media, with many people commending and others condemning Marie Stopes for the move.
Nikita Mynhardt, Marketing and Brand Development lead for Marie Stopes, says that since the implementation of the credit system, “45% of online payments [have been] coming through credit cards and store cards” – a staggering figure which shows how much of a difference the system has made in under two months.
The credit system allows people to pay for any of Marie Stopes’ services in instalments, either via a credit card or a store card. The store cards extend to stores such as Makro, Game, Poetry, and even Builder’s Warehouse.
This method also provides extra privacy to the person making the payments, as the Marie Stopes name does not show on any invoices. Mynhardt does not see any reproductive healthcare as shameful, but acknowledges many women still feel judged for their choices.
This societal judgement is not the only factor hampering women’s access to healthcare. The long and arduous process of getting an abortion at public hospitals often drives women directly into the hands of illegal abortion providers.
A Spotlight report from 2023 notes that medical abortions are “only available in 119 public sector facilities”, which works out to less than 3% of all public healthcare facilities countrywide.
Long waiting times due to this lack of access also increase desperation. A report by the Commission for Gender Equality states that around 50% of abortions in South Africa occur outside of designated healthcare facilities.
Mynhardt explains Marie Stopes is concerned by the prevalence of illegal abortion providers, who perform terminations even up to 30 weeks. “Women can die” when they don’t have affordable access to reproductive health services, Mynhardt says.
Removing financial barriers is one way of ensuring the safety of thousands of women. People can now “get the care they deserve without the hassle” of worrying about finances upfront, says Mynhardt.
South Africa might have been the first country worldwide to protect the right to abortion, but the state has a long way to go in terms of providing women with the resources needed to exercise their rights.
FEATURED IMAGE: Marie Stopes centre in Gandhi Square, Johannesburg. Photo: Marie Stopes.
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by Lebogang Mdlankomo | Aug 31, 2012 | Featured 1, News
Although legal abortion statistics in South Africa have gone up, a campus nurse says the numbers of students who opt to go for abortions have gone down over the last five years.
Last week Monday health minister, Aaron Mostoaledi, released statistics showing a 31 % increase from 2010’s 59,447 to 77,771.
The three provinces which ranked highest were the Free State, North-West province and Gauteng.
During 2011 there were 21, 944 abortions carried out in the Free State, followed by 12,138 in the North-West and 11,239 in Gauteng.
According to a paper by Lynette Vermaas, a researcher from the Student Development and Support (SDS) at Tswhane University of Technology (TUT), student pregnancies at tertiary institutions worldwide are increasing every year despite the assumption that students have sufficient knowledge of the risks of unprotected sex.
Campus Health and Careers Counselling and Development Unit (CCDU) work together in assisting female students make informed decisions about termination of pregnancy (TOP).
Sister Maggy Moloi, a nurse at Campus Health, said the clinic advocates for “family planning education, especially to first years [students] during Orientation Week.”
She mentioned the clinic does not, carry out abortions because it offers primary healthcare which includes services such as family planning and treatment of STIs and HIV testing.
CCDU psychologist Toinette Bradley said: “We do work with Campus Health but students wanting ToPs are usually referred to clinics and hospitals.”
Moloi said Campus Health refers students to the Marie Stopes near Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto because it’s much more affordable than the one in Ghandi Square.
When asked whether students use termination of pregnancy as a contraceptive measure she said: “Most of the students access contraceptives from the clinic. They do know about the service.”
However, she believes that generally young women do not access contraceptives from clinics because they are not educated about the different types of contraceptive measures available.
Moloi said the problem is fuelled by misconstrued information about the effects that birth control pills have on their bodies. Young women don’t communicate with their parents about sexual matters because they are considered as taboo in some families.
Although the statistics referred only to legal abortions, Sister Moloi said the biggest problem faced was that people still go for backstreet abortions and “some end up with infections or even worse, they end up dead”.
An example of this was the death of University of Johannesburg (UJ) student, Ayanda Masondo (20) earlier this year. Masondo was found dead in her residence room from what was reported to be a botched illegal abortion.
Campus Health’s relationship with CCDU helps with the possible emotional consequences of abortion.
“Those students who come back frustrated and depressed because of the abortion, then we refer them there for further counselling,” said Moloi.
She believes the clinic used to have “a huge number of students coming in for assistance for abortions but compared to five years ago to now, the numbers are very low”.
Published in Vuvuzela 22nd edition,31 August 2012
