10 held for illegal abortions

Ten people were arrested in Durban for allegedly performing illegal abortions, the eThekwini municipality said on Thursday.

“Those that were arrested are mainly foreign nationals including two Congolese nationals and a Ugandan, who are believed to be part of a wider syndicate of illegal backstreet abortion practitioners,” deputy city manager of health and social Services, Dr Musa Gumede said in a statement.

The arrests were made after a joint effort between the municipality and police. Traditional medicines and drugs used to carry out the operations were seized.

“The bogus practitioners usually advertise their services on lamp posts and by distributing pamphlets and business cards across inner city buildings.”

Gumede said they operated from dimly-lit rooms in the city's dilapidated buildings. He appealed to women who chose abortion, to do so at government hospitals, where it was legal and their lives would not be at risk. – Sapa