Dakar — In Senegal, abortions are carried out in secret since the practice is illegal and considered taboo. Torn between pain and fear, a young Senegalese woman narrates her experience. And an abortionist weighs in.
Fatoumata had an abortion three weeks ago at a private clinic in a popular neighbourhood of Dakar. "I took it out," says the 22-year-old briefly. It is not easy to discuss the issue of abortion in Senegal, as the practice is both taboo and illegal. Fatoumata did not tell her family or partner about her pregnancy and subsequent abortion.
Third degree
"First, I went to a pharmacy and from there I was directed to a certain doctor," she recounts. The doctor in question referred her to a private clinic. At the clinic, Fatoumata was torn between fear and pain. The doctors coldly questioned her: "They asked me: 'Are you here for an abortion?', 'Are you married?', 'Do you have a boyfriend?' and 'Does your boyfriend agree with you having an abortion?'"
Fatoumata remained composed and explained that her partner did not know about her pregnancy and that she wanted to have an abortion. But the doctors persisted, trying to ensure that "I would not cause any complications, because it is a clinic and abortion is illegal."
The price
Then it was bargaining time. "I was asked to pay 70,000 CFA francs for the procedure, plus 6,000 CFA francs for the ticket," the young woman recalls. "I said no, I don't have that much money, I have 50,000 CFA francs... We finally agreed on 60,000 CFA francs."
But they doctors were still not convinced and asked a few more questions. "The gynaecologist asked me why I wanted to do it," recalls Fatoumata. "I answered that it was because I didn't want a child at the moment."
The pain
The gynaecologist then took her into a small operating room. "It was neat," she noted. It was with a bitter voice that she narrated the rest of her experience. "I felt a lot of pain and she [the gynaecologist] told me 'don't scream too much otherwise people will know what you are doing here; you chose this, so be strong; everything will be fine.' It was the most horrible ten minutes of my life," says Fatoumata.
But the next moments were even more painful, according to the young woman. "She showed me what she had taken out my womb, probably to discourage me from having an abortion ever again." Today, Fatoumata is healthy and well; shortly after the procedure, the gynaecologist gave her a prescription for antibiotics and other medications. "But there was no follow-ups," says Fatoumata.
The abortionist
Mohamed, who prefers not to use his real name, is a doctor. He is meeting us by night, in a treatment room, to discuss this taboo subject. He has been performing abortions for more than twenty years, in strict anonymity and secrecy, because, in Senegal, a doctor faces between one and five years imprisonment and a fine between 20,000 and 100,000 CFA francs for performing an abortion.
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According to the penal code, a woman who has an abortion faces jail time ranging from six months to two years.
"I do it mostly for social reasons. Sometimes I want to help friends or relatives who find themselves in a difficult position with their families because of an unplanned pregnancy," explains the doctor who is in his fifties. He sees "many young women" as well as "company executives who want to conceal the pregnancy of their mistresses". Mohamed therefore operates "in secrecy".
Complications
"After anesthetising the cervix," he says, "I use special instruments to clean the uterus. It is a delicate procedure that lasts ten to fifteen minutes." But the procedure also has some dangers, so he asks the women to come back two weeks later for an ultrasound test.
"I was very scared of having an abortion because I know many women who died from it. I was also scared of complications," admits Fatoumata. "I just hope abortion will one day be legalised in Senegal."
