Abortion - it is my own body: Narratives from females about influences on their abortion decisions.

Despite the amendment of Ghana’s abortion laws in 1985, aimed at increasing access to safe abortion services, these services are not readily available to most women. Abortion has consistently been an important contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality in Ghana. A situation some observers attribute to the sensitivity surrounding pregnancy terminations and the low knowledge about the abortion law and its nuances. Within this context, this paper explores the decision making process of females within the ages of 15-30 years who aborted their pregnancies. The study employed a qualitative research design with 28 females who sought their abortions at an NGO run clinic. Data for the study was analyzed using Mile’s and Huberman’s framework and the social ecological model as guides. Analysis of the interviews show that pragmatic concerns like economic difficulties, child spacing, fear of parental reaction, attitude of partners, impregnation by someone other than the regular partner and health concerns influenced participants in their abortion decisions. The low level of knowledge by participants about Ghana’s abortion laws also emerged as a strong theme. The study therefore concludes that although there are social, cultural and legal prohibitions regarding abortions, pragmatic concerns force some women to act contrary to them.