'Unsafe abortions kill 8 pc of women in India'

About eight per cent of women in the country die due to unsafe abortion methods, said city doctors at a seminar organised by the Bangalore branch of the Family Planning Association of India (FPA) on Wednesday.

“Unsafe abortion methods constitute everything from no trained personnel, lack of proper facilities to over-the-counter abortion pills,” said Dr Sheela Mane, consultant, Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Speaking to private medical practitioners on advancements in reproductive health, she explained how abortion pills need to be taken with prescriptions.

Member of World Association for Sexual Health, Padmini Prasad, threw light on the dangers of buying and consuming pills directly from the chemist. “Many women take the easy way out, and without consulting the doctor, buy these abortion pills. Doing this leads to complications, which can lead to the death of the patient,” she said.

“I get at least two to three cases in a month where women complain of profuse bleeding after taking pills without consulting a doctor,” added Dr Padmini. She said many patients eventually died.

“Visiting a chemist and druggist and asking for abortion pills is very easy. These women forget that a chemist is not trained in these matters. When a patient comes to us for abortion, we make them undertake many tests – blood test, haemoglobin test, etc.

We also check for the duration of the pregnancy and only then go in for abortion,” said Dr Trupti Kulkarni, a private practitioner. “Abortion pills are easily available in the City. There is nobody to check these offenders,” she said.

Reacting to the observations made by the doctors, B R Jagashetty, Director of Drug Technical Advisory Board, said, “The City chemists do not sell such drugs if a person doesn’t have a doctor’s prescription.”