Pretoria - Two days before the time lapses for a teenager to obtain a legal termination of pregnancy, Section27 rushed to the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, to obtain an urgent order that the Gauteng Department of Health had to see to it that she received a legal abortion.
The teenager, whose plight was presented to the court on Saturday, only had two days left in which she could receive a legal abortion.
The court issued an order on Sunday in which it ordered the department to make arrangements to provide the minor with a termination of pregnancy by yesterday.
Section27 said it turned to court on behalf of the pregnant teenager as a public health facility in Gauteng refused point blank to terminate her pregnancy.
The court was told the pregnant teen made multiple attempts to access these services, in accordance with her rights under the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, but was denied access to this right on each occasion.
According to Section27, the healthcare workers incorrectly told her the position of the foetus meant she did not qualify for her pregnancy to be terminated.
The health-care workers also did not refer her to a tertiary hospital to enable her to terminate her pregnancy, which in turn impacted her chances of obtaining a legal abortion.
The Termination of Pregnancy Act provides that women and girls are legally permitted to obtain a termination up to and including the 20th week of pregnancy on non-medical grounds.
The teenager was 20 weeks and four days pregnant when the matter landed in court. This left her only two days to obtain a lawful termination.
Pearl Nicodemus of Section27 argued that the minor’s right to reproductive health services, bodily autonomy and access to health-care services were violated when the primary health-care facility failed to refer her to a tertiary health-care facility.
“In our view, the respondents (the member of the Executive Council in the Gauteng Department of Health and the head of Department of Health in Gauteng) failed to fulfil their constitutional obligation in terms of of the Constitution, which states that ‘everyone has the right to access health care services, including reproductive health care’.”
Section27, meanwhile, welcomed the decision of the urgent court.
“Girls and women are entitled to bodily autonomy and to assert their right to sexual and reproductive health.
“The urgent court’s finding is an important step in securing a termination of pregnancy in terms of the act,” Nicodemus said.
The Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act was passed to recognise women’s reproductive health rights and to prevent the sometimes fatal consequences of illegal backstreet abortions.
In terms of the act, a woman who wishes to abort may do so legally in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. If she is between 13 and 20 weeks pregnant, the pregnancy may be terminated under specific conditions.
If she is more than 20 weeks pregnant, a termination of pregnancy will only be done if her life or that of the foetus is in danger or if there are likely to be serious birth defects.
It is not clear what the circumstances are of the teenager who turned to court.
Pretoria News