Forced to use unsafe services
In countries where abortion is illegal, many women are forced to use unsafe, back street services either because they don’t have access to contraception in the first place or because they have been raped.
"One evening my brother-in-law came into my house. I was there alone, watching TV. He was a bit drunk. Then he grabbed me and was pulling at me. I told him to let go. I started to scream but no one heard me. Then he threw me on the bed and because he’s very strong he raped me. Then he said that if I told anyone he would lie and say that I seduced him. I went to tell his mother and she told me it was all lies, that it wasn’t her son, but another man. So then I went to the pharmacy to ask for emergency contraception and they told me that they didn’t sell them by the piece, that I had to buy the whole box. But I didn’t have enough money."
The human toll
In Ethiopia, abortion has only recently been made legal in particular circumstances. While this is a huge step forward for women, with safe services in short supply, women still go to a back street abortionist, herbalist or a pharmacist for drugs. We have seen many women here who have been damaged; whose cervices have been burned by chemicals to induce bleeding; or who are suffering from the effects of taking huge doses of drugs to induce a miscarriage. Sometimes we can’t save them.