By Tolit Ivan
A19year old lady died on Tuesday from Gulu Regional Referral hospital after she allegedly attempted carry out abortion.
Catherine Atim died at around 8pm after being rushed to the Regional Referral Hospital in critical condition for post abortion care by unidentified person.
Juliet Chebet, the Senior Medical Social Worker at the Referral Hospital, confirmed the unfortunate incident.
According to a report by Gulu District Health Department, at least 275 teenage girls have terminated their pregnancy between 2023-2024. Out of the 393 cases of abortion registered across the 20 government health facilities between July 2023-july2024, 70% (275) were teenage girls aged between 15-19 and majorly school going children at the level of primary and secondary.
Abortion in Uganda is illegal unless performed by a licensed medical doctor in a situation where the woman’s life is deemed to be at risk.
With women lacking access to safe and legal abortions, many of them turn to unsafe abortion practices, such as self-induced abortions.
