Lack of Family Planning Leads to Unsafe Abortions in Pakistan

14 of every 100 pregnant women in Pakistan undergo an abortion. Most of them are married with at least three children, and their average age is about 30 years. There can be many reasons for an abortion. As Dr. Zeba Sathar, Pakistan country director of the Population Council, an international NGO explains,"it is really affecting the lives of many, many women who are desperate to find means of having fewer children or spacing their children."

Risks of unsafe abortions

A national research report of 2002 states that 55 percent of women having an abortion do it because "they had enough children" and couldn’t afford to have another child. Only 25 percent felt it was "too soon" to have a child. Because abortion is mostly kept secret, many and especially poor women turn to traditional midwives to undergo abortions in backstreet clinics.

Dr. Shirin Bhutto, a reputed gynaecologist explains the risks of such an unsafe abortion: "If the procedure is performed by somebody who is not well trained, then it can cause injury to her organs, which can have serious consequences for her life as well as her health. She can have long term complications leading to infection and maybe her prospects of future fertility are compromised as well. "

Little knowledge about contraception

However, a Population Council report says many Pakistanis feel that using contraceptives can be more threatening to health than an abortion. Sex education is a taboo in Pakistan, and most women are unaware of basic family planning measures. "There isn’t a formal system of sex education in school curricula,” Dr. Bhutto explains. "The rates of home delivery are still quite high. Up to 65 percent of births occur at home and in the community. So I suppose there would be very few chances of contraceptive advice even after their first or second delivery."

Some critics blame the influence of Islamic scholars for the taboos surrounding sex education. However, Maulana Shah Turab ul Haq, an eminent religious scholar, says while abortion is un-Islamic, using contraceptives is not: "Abortion is fine only if the pregnancy affects the mother’s health or if there is a defect with the foetus. To prevent abortion one can use contraceptives; but you must not kill the child, thinking that you cannot support the family after its birth."

Dr. Shirin Bhutto sees other reasons rather than religious beliefs that contraception is not so widespread in Pakistan. She says poverty is responsible for women being unaware of the benefits of using contraception, "because availability does not ensure accessability. So it's as much as a question of being motivated and being aware of the use of contraceptives."

Experts say it is only through strong interpersonal communication and a targeted family planning programme that the lives of many women in Pakistan can be saved.

Author: Debarati Mukherjee
Editor: Grahame Lucas