Gauging awareness of the right to terminate pregnancy

The Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act was passed 18 years ago, yet a study conducted in the rural areas of the Vhembe district in Limpopo showed that less than 50% of its young participants knew about the act. This lack of knowledge could hinder young people who need to make use of termination of pregnancy (TOP) services, say Thelmah Maluleke and Sylvia Vuledzani Hadzhi. The Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act (CTOP) gives women of any age access to abortion services upon request during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and in some cases, up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. But even before its introduction, the CTOP evoked a lot of morally related debates and arguments, some of which had a negative impact on the implementation and dissemination of information related to the CTOP and abortion services.