Tanzania’s abortion dilemma: The silent crisis costing lives
For many women, the lack of access to safe and legal abortions means choosing between carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term or risking their lives through unsafe procedures. PHOTO | COURTESY
Tanzania continues to grapple with a silent yet deadly crisis—unsafe abortions. Despite being a signatory to the Maputo Protocol, which calls for legal abortion under certain circumstances, the country’s restrictive laws have pushed many women and girls into life-threatening situations.
Health experts warn that these restrictions have contributed to rising maternal deaths, especially among young girls whom, out of desperation, resort to dangerous methods of terminating pregnancies.
