The decision of the American Supreme Court to revoke the right to abortion is reacting even in Africa. On the continent, voluntary termination of pregnancy remains prohibited in a large majority of countries. This is the case in Côte d’Ivoire, for example, where abortion is only authorized in the event of danger to the mother’s life or in the event of rape and incest. A bill is however in preparation to liberalize abortions, but it is not yet won.
With our correspondent in Abidjan, Sidy Yansane
In Côte d’Ivoire, voluntary termination of pregnancy remains a taboo subject in the name of the child’s right to life. In recent years, more and more feminist and women’s rights organizations have been calling for greater access to safe abortions. But they fear the US Supreme Court’s decision will make the fight harder on the continent.
” Although Côte d’Ivoire is a party to the Maputo protocol on women’s sexual reproductive health, the right to abortion is still not decriminalized, let alone legalized. So what we fear as African feminists is that this decision of the United States Supreme Court will push African states to also toughen the law on the right to abortion fears Désirée Dénéo, the secretary general of the Ivorian League for Women’s Rights.
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By default, Ivorian women resort to clandestine abortions which are particularly dangerous for their health. This is why the independent deputy Antoine Tiemoko Assalé is working on a bill to legalize the practice:
“ I discuss with gynecologists who give me particularly edifying testimonies of young girls completely ravaged by people I would describe as butchers. A responsible state should consider the issue to ensure that this is done safely. There are dozens and dozens of girls and women who die as a result of clandestine abortions carried out in unsanitary conditions. »
According to the NGO Doctors of the World, 300,000 women abort illegally each year in Côte d’Ivoire, three-quarters of whom are underage students.