Jim Day
IN Johannesburg General Hospital’s=20 maternity section, posters advertise=20 “couples’ classes” on childbirth, an=20 “active birth discussion”, the benefits of=20 breast feeding and tastefully coloured=20 photographs showing the stages of=20 development of a foetus.
Absent from the displays, however, is any=20 mention that the facility, along with=20 others throughout South Africa, will begin=20 offering abortions within the next few=20 days.
For such a major change in South Africa’s=20 health-care policy, several Gauteng=20 hospitals were surprisingly reluctant to=20 offer any information on what they had done=20 to prepare to offer women the service.=20
Officials at some hospitals did not want to=20 talk to reporters for fear that their=20 facilities would be swamped by so many=20 abortion requests they would not be able to=20 handle them.=20
Three days before legalisation was to go=20 into effect, other officials, such as one=20 at Hillbrow’s maternity section, said they=20 could provide no information because they=20 were “still waiting for guidelines” from=20 central health administrators. An official=20 at Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto said the=20 issue had created such hot controversy=20 among staff that it wanted to say nothing=20 that might inflame the issue.
Baragwanath and Johannesburg General=20 originally thought it would be fine if a=20 reporter and photographer came to the=20 facility. But after executive meetings,=20 both decided to avoid drawing unnecessary=20 attention to themselves.=20
General inquiries drew a similar response.=20 A receptionist at Johannesburg General’s=20 social services section said terminations=20 would be available from next month, but had=20 little idea of when appointments could be=20 made.=20
Asked for information on its new=20 termination facilities and service,=20 Hillbrow refused to discuss the matter.=20 Instead it offered the phone number of a=20 social worker.=20