Abortion Pills Sold Like Sweets On The Streets
Illicit drug dealers are openly selling abortion pills across the country and the pills can be bought by anyone, even children, provided one makes contact with the individuals who advertise their services online.
According to B-Metro, the Facebook page that advertises the services is called “Legal Abortions in Zimbabwe.”
There is no such thing as legal abortion in Zimbabwe but under the Termination of Pregnancy Act, pregnancies can be terminated by a registered medical practitioner authorised by a court order.
Where rape or incest results in a pregnancy, and in cases of abnormalities in the unborn child, or maternal conditions dangerous to the well-being of the mother, abortions are administered at law.
An investigation done by B-Metro revealed that the pills are available for US$60 and where the customer resides outside Harare, an additional US$5 would be charged.
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Undercover journalists were able to buy the pills from Harare and a man identified as Morris delivered the product to Bulawayo at a parking lot of a popular supermarket yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a local pharmacist who was shown the abortion pills said they are used for inducing labour in hospitals and clinics. He said:
These in a sealed package are pills that are used by doctors to induce labour, a medical practice done on a pregnant woman when the baby is overdue or when there is a risk to the mother or the baby’s health.
When administered for illegal abortions, these pills are dangerous and someone could die.
Abortions are illegal in Zimbabwe for a reason and when done by someone who is not medically qualified, they can lead to fatal consequences or long-term health complications.
The Harare dealer, who sold the pills to the undercover journalist, later sent WhatsApp voice notes explaining to the female journalist how the pills are administered. He said:
There are three tablets in the sachet (sealed package) and two of the tablets are ingested by eating them like sweets and you must not drink water when ingesting them.
Break the third into eight pieces and insert them into your private parts by pushing them in using the tips of your two fingers.
He said that after inserting the pills, she must not use the toilet for three hours. He added:
I also added three other pills that are not packaged and those are for cleaning your womb and you take them one at a time every morning for three days.
There are no side effects or complications, the tablets are very effective.
Commenting on the issue, the Clinical Director of Mpilo Central Hospital, Solwayo Ngwenya, urged the public to abstain from using misoprostol saying it has harmful consequences when the patient is unsupervised. He said:
The unregulated and unsupervised use of the misoprostol drug is not recommended for the general public because it introduces delinquency and criminality to our children.
Secondly, users can bleed heavily during backyard abortion attempts, resulting in collapse and death.
Thirdly, there could be infection and septicemia (blood poisoning by bacteria) that could result in post-abortal sepsis and death.
There are long-term complications that include chronic pelvic pain, subfertility (delay in conceiving), and mental health issues.
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