05/03/2015
Self-induced medical abortion on the rise among
young girls
Srinagar: Self-induced medical abortion is on the
rise among girls in the 14-25 age group in the
Valley, doctors say.
Many gynaecologists Kashmir Reader spoke to
said that they come to know of such abortions
only when the girls come to hospitals or private
clinics for complications caused by the medicines.
“At first most of them say that they are married,
but they spill the beans when we inquire further,”
said a registrar at Lal Ded Hospital, the Valley’s
only maternity hospital.
“Most of the times we get cases of incomplete
abortion. These girls do not know what to do after
taking medicines. When they come to us they are
either bleeding profusely or become extremely
anemic or their health is in bad shape,” she said.
Last year, the doctor said, a pregnant Class 9
student had been brought to the hospital for
delivery.
“She was so young that we faced a lot of problems
in conducting her delivery,” she said.
“We would rarely encounter cases of self-induced
medical abortion but now the menace is slowly
picking up. In a week we deal with at least two
cases,” the registrar said.
Asmat Suhail Khanday, a gynecologist at Ramzana
Hospital, said the youth read the stuff on the
Internet and “think they have complete s*x
education”.
“Mere reading does not mean that they have
complete education in such matters. They then
have illicit s*x and have to deal with unwanted
pregnancies,” she said, while stressing on parental
watch and guidance.
Most gynaecologists blame the pharmacists for
providing medicines to these girls without medical
supervision.
Since abortion is illegal, doctors can’t prescribe
such medicines. However, a gynaecologist said
that in case of emergencies doctors can step in.
But an effective preventive measure, said Shahnaz
Taing, head of gynaecology department at LD
Hospital, is parental guidance and moral education.
What is medical abortion?
Once pregnant, a woman
takes the abortion pill, which might cause nausea
in some. Another pill is taken six to 72 hours later.
The abortion starts one to four hours after the
second pill. Heavy bleeding and cramps last for a
couple of hours. Lighter bleeding may continue off
and on for one to two weeks or more. In countries
where abortion is legal, women take the pill at a
clinic or doctor’s office and then come for a follow-
up appointment about a week later to be sure the
abortion is complete.
