1.4 million abortions performed in public health facilities since 2014

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has disclosed detailed statistics on abortion services provided in public health facilities across South Africa, shedding light on the availability and use of these services.

His revelations came as part of a parliamentary reply addressing compliance with the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP) Act and related issues.

Abortion facilities compliance

According to Motsoaledi, 346 public health facilities nationwide comply with the CTOP Act, ensuring they can legally provide termination of pregnancy services.

Among the provinces, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) leads with 63 compliant facilities, followed by the Western Cape and Limpopo with 57 and 51 facilities, respectively.

Gauteng ranks fourth with 49 facilities, while the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and North West have 37, 35, and 33 compliant facilities.

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The Free State and Northern Cape have the fewest facilities, with only 14 and seven, respectively.

The minister confirmed that no facilities have had their approval to provide pregnancy termination services withdrawn.

“Approval has not been withdrawn from any facilities,” he said.

Number of abortions in SA since 2014

The minister also provided data on the number of abortions recorded over the years.

Between 2014 and 2016, public health facilities reported a total of 538 230 abortions, according to the Department of Health’s District Health Information System (DHIS).

Annual figures revealed 175 788 abortions in 2014, 170 682 in 2015, and a slight increase to 191 760 in 2016.

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From 2017 onward, the number of abortions recorded for women pregnant between 0 to 20 weeks approached one million, reaching a cumulative total of 929 538 by 2024.

Yearly statistics for this period show 77 168 abortions in 2017, 113 695 in 2018, 122 985 in 2019, and 109 023 in 2020.

The numbers rose to 114 496 in 2021, 135 523 in 2022, 138 139 in 2023, and 118 509 in 2024.

These figures highlight the sustained demand for termination of pregnancy services across the country.

Can healthcare workers refuse to perform pregnancy termination?

Motsoaledi also addressed the legal framework governing abortion services, emphasising that healthcare professionals have certain rights and obligations under the CTOP Act.

Medical practitioners and nurses are not obligated to perform terminations of pregnancy.

“However, according to the Act, all health care providers are obliged to refer clients to a facility where the service is rendered, and to provide any emergency treatment which is needed as a result of a termination of pregnancy, irrespective of where the termination was performed,” the minister explained.

He further stressed that healthcare workers must provide accurate information on termination of pregnancy services and refer clients to appropriate clinics if they cannot perform the procedure themselves.

“Failure to do this can result in the health care provider facing a penalty of imprisonment of not less than 10 years,” the minister warned, underscoring the importance of adhering to the law to ensure women have access to safe and legal abortion services.

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