This is the number churned out from records of the nine centers that have been given permission for conducting abortion but while illegal abortions go unreported. [break]
The chief of the District Public Health Office, Chitwan, Mahendra Shrestha, said 6,000 women aborted their fetus at legal centers last year which is more than one third of the expected 17,500 pregnancies in the district every year.
"It is very worrisome. While abortion should be done under compelling situation, it is now taken as a routine procedure as if it is a means of family planning," Shrestha added.
"Abortion is not a normal procedure. Legal or illegal, it can have adverse affect on the health of women," he warned.
Dr Sunita Acharya, at the abortion department of Family Planning Association Nepal, Chitwan, argued that the situation is because of the inability in promoting temporary means of family planning. "People seem less attracted toward temporary family planning instruments because abortion is promoted more vehemently," Dr Acharya reasoned.
The law allows normal abortion of fetus up to 12 weeks, and up to 12 weeks under special conditions. She argued that giving legal acknowledgement to abortion has caused the trend of not using safety instruments to rise. "Around 75 percent of the women coming for abortion are the panicky ones using no safety measures despite no wish for children," she revealed.
While just 719 had done abortion at legal centers in 2003, the first year after it was legalized, the total number of cases have now rocketed to 309,583 in the past six years.
Related story
Making abortion socially acceptable
