In a shocking turn of events, a 20-year-old student is said to have aborted a 7-month-old fetus on Saturday in Aweil town in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, to the bewilderment of relatives and community members.
A family member of the suspect who spoke to Radio Tamazuj on condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident and said neighbors found the lady in the process of terminating her pregnancy and rushed her to a nearby hospital.
“On Saturday, my wife and our neighbors detected that a young lady aged 20 who lives in my compound was trying to abort her pregnancy and they decided to take her for medical consultations and a checkup,” he reported. “The lady refused to attend the medical procedures and while people were waiting for the next steps, she took off to a nearby forest at 3 p.m. and aborted the fetus with the help of drugs she bought from the market.”
A police source who said he is not authorized to speak to the press intimated that the lady was momentarily admitted to the hospital and said no legal procedures have been taken against her yet.
“The girl who committed the abortion is still at the hospital and MSF said they do not want police intervention until she is discharged,” he explained. “According to the firsthand information we have, the abortion took place at the hospital but was initiated elsewhere.”
For her part, Rose Aker, a member of the Women’s Network in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, condemned the incident and said abortion is unacceptable.
“It is illegal for women and children to abort unless it happens misfortunately as a miscarriage then no one can be blamed because it is God who planned it,” she said. “Women are unhappy and disapprove of such harmful practices.”