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| Sunday, 25 August 2002 |
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Illegal abortions on the increase by Shanika Sriyananda Liyanage While the number of annual maternal deaths due to illegal abortions is alarming, over 1,200 to 1,500 such cases are still taking place daily at illegal centres unheeding the law, a Health Ministry official told the 'Sunday Observer'. " The main cause for the increase in abortions is due to the pregnancy among unmarried young girls", he said, adding that the victims of illegal abortions were girls between the ages of 18 and 25 years, most of whom are school girls, Free Trade Zone workers, urban workers and office workers. " Although abortion is illegal under Section 303 and 304 of the Penal Code, it has become a lucrative business since there is a demand for abortions now. Most of these abortions are conducted in private medical centres by inexperienced staffers, where they do not have proper medical facilities and equipment ", he added. However, ten per cent of the maternal deaths were due to the unsafe abortions in Sri Lanka. According to Ministry sources, there are nearly 25 to 30 such medical clinics which perform illegal abortions within the Colombo district and these clinics are mushrooming in the Free Trade Zones as there is a demand for illegal abortions. "The Ministry has information about some government medical officers who perform abortions in the so-called 'Medical Centres'. We will be netting them soon", he said. According to the Ministry official, those who have information about such centres can direct their complaints to the Ministry. |
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