The Ministry of Health is currently putting measures in place to make abortion services accessible at public health facilities a reality soon, says Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud.
Persaud told Stabroek News that the process has started and although he could not give a timeframe for when it will be implemented, it could be “even earlier than July”.
He explained that as the CMO he will have to certify the obstetricians who will perform the procedures and before this could be done the doctors would have to pass an in-depth safety review.
“The process has started to bring termination of pregnancies to public healthcare facilities… It is not just a simple project so we are currently working on it… not only because a doctor has a licence, the CMO will have to certify them to do terminations,” he said.
Persaud added that public health facilities would also have to meet specified requirements before terminations can be offered. “An inspection of the government facilities needs to be completed… we have to check about confidentiality, safe methods and practices, appropriate medications, necessary staff and so on,” he explained.
Although the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act became operational in early 1996, abortions are not done at public hospitals except in cases where the patient faces life threatening circumstances or is a victim of rape.
The decision to have public health facilities provide abortion services was taken to ensure that women, especially those from low-income backgrounds, have access to safe, hygienic procedures instead of having to resort to ‘do-it-yourself’ methods and un-licensed doctors. There have been reports of females who died from complications from incomplete abortions, with sepsis being the most common result.
In December of 2011, Karen Badal, 18, of Lot 2 North Vigilance, East Coast Demerara, was four months pregnant when she died as a result of a perforated uterus and acute peritonitis after a botched abortion. Her family had stated that she had sought an abortion from a known medical practitioner because she could not afford any other children at the time. The doctor in the case had denied that he was the person who performed the abortion. The Ministry of Health launched an investigation.
Persaud had told Stabroek News that the investigation into her death was nearing completion and decisions would be made available soon. At the time, he said he was not in possession of the file but would accommodate this newspaper at a later date.
Relatives of Badal had previously expressed great hope that the doctor responsible for the death of the young mother would pay his dues before the legal system of Guyana. However, relatives also said that they are not confident that justice will prevail because of the slow progress in the matter.
Meanwhile, when Stabroek News checked at three private hospitals on Tuesday to ascertain the cost of a pregnancy termination, prices ranged from $15,000 to $28,000. All of the hospitals stated that a consent form would have to be signed and the patient would have to undergo brief counselling prior to the procedure, which is done either very early in the mornings or in the afternoon. While the procedure could take as little as five minutes under local anaesthesia, patients remain until they are physically able and alert, which is usually 5 to 8 hours.
