Examining religio-cultural beliefs among women towards induced abortions in Noodsberg and Esidumbini communities of faith: a case study.

Abstract

South Africa is among the countries that have legalised the termination of pregnancy. This means women are free to decide whether to keep their pregnancy without being penalised by the legal system. Even though healthcare systems provide low cost or even free services, the country continues to witness an increase in illegal abortions carried out by untrained personnel in health compromised conditions. These illegal abortions have contributed to serious health complications that in some cases, lead to the death of young women, who are the main risk population in this exercise. This is despite South Africa having one of the world’s most progressive legal framework for abortion. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate factors leading to unsafe abortions especially among young women. The paper uses a qualitative approach to assess factors leading to these young women opting for illegal abortion. Using reproductive justice framework and intersectional feminism as a theoretical framework, the dissertation assessed the extent to which religion and culture play a role in the use of illegal abortions. The study will be conducted in the Noodsberg and Esidumbini rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal province. The choice of this community is in line with the previous research on termination of pregnancy which showed that opposition towards the Termination of Pregnancy Act was strong in this part of the country. Findings from this study indicated that opposition to this act was partly based on religious and cultural norms of the people within this community. It is from this background that this dissertation sought to examine these religio-cultural beliefs towards termination of pregnancy among women in South Africa.