Health and Wellness
With reference to the News24 article published on 16 April 2025 regarding the abandoned foetus and the access to safe abortion services:
- Whether there are any reports detailing instances where healthcare practitioners in abortion clinics have chastised or discouraged women from obtaining an abortion; if so, how many;
- whether any reports have been made of women facing obstetric violence within these clinics; if so, what safeguards are in place to ensure that women seeking abortions in these clinics feel safe and free from judgment?
According to the International Confederation of Midwives, obstetric violence refers to the “the mistreatment of women during childbirth, which can manifest in various forms. It includes physical violence, loss of autonomy; being subjected to any clinical intervention without appropriate informed consent; being shouted at, scolded, humiliated, or threatened; and being ignored, refused, or receiving no response to requests for help. It may also include non-evidence-based practices, such as routine episiotomy and lack of access to physiological birth.”
Obstetric violence can result in preventable maternal death or complications, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, neonatal disability, debilitating complications, economic consequences and newborn death.
It is acknowledged internationally as a form of gender-based violence by the UN and in South Africa this acknowledgement came at the 2022 Presidential Summit on Gender Based Violence and Femicide. The issue of obstetric violence is therefore much broader than the denial of accessible and safe abortions.
We do not have any recorded cases of facing specifically “obstetric violence”, however, there may have been complaints at some of our facilities related to pregnancy, labour or birth that is not couched under the term “obstetric violence”. However, as with all complaints, these would have been investigated by the Department through its official channels.
That being said, the Department is committed to providing women with a safe and judgement-free service if they choose to end a pregnancy.
In the Western Cape, every designated clinic operates under the National Clinical Guidelines for Termination of Pregnancy, which insist on confidential, non‑judgemental and dignified care. The staff at these designated clinics are trained and supervised to these standards; patient‑rights charters, anonymous complaint boxes and a provincial hotline are displayed in full view.
The Department therefore remains fully committed to ensuring that any woman who chooses to end a pregnancy in the Western Cape can do so safely, promptly, and without fear of censure.
If anyone knows of or becomes aware of a case in which a women sought to end her pregnancy by felt unsafe of judged, I encourage them to please report it to the Department through the official channels so that it can be investigated and addressed.
I also want to mention that the story of the abandoned foetus was heartbreaking to read. I strongly encourage any woman who is struggling, to reach out for help at their local Social Development
