Publications

Termination of pregnancy for medical reasons is a complex decision, which may lead to long term complications,both for the woman and for the whole family. A summary of data from the Demographic Health Survey since 2005shows that in most African countries, sexual activity before age 20 is more prevalent than marriages before thatage, with a high adolescent fertility rate and its attendant consequences. It is estimated that about 1.8 millionadolescent females give birth yearly, mainly in Low and Medium Income Countries. Additionally, 1 out of every 3women in developing compared to 1 out of 5 women in developed countries would have given birth by the age of18. Of these births, about 95% take place in LMICs which are largely beset with poverty, lack of education andhigh rural populations. As a consequence of these, numerous, sometimes unintended pregnancies, about 3 million,mostly unsafe abortions among adolescents occur yearly, some with fatal and often times long-term complications.This paper therefore examined the religious and socio-economic factors responsible for abortion practices amongyoung people in Ghana. It maintained that, adolescents suffer consequences of abortion, such as haemorrhage,severe anaemia, trauma, foreign body, sepsis, or mortality; hence, the need for alternatives to abortion throughexpanded and enhanced family planning services, and if unintended pregnancy has already occurred for a womanwho qualifies for safe legal abortion, then safety should be guaranteed.