Ayanda Masondo died on 19 March 2012. She was 20 years old. A student at the University of Johannesburg, Masondo’s body was found leaning against the door in her room at the Benjemijn hostel. The cause of her death was complications from an illegal abortion.
Sadly, Masondo’s fate is all too common. Illegal abortions kill dozens of South African women every year[1].
According to the Saving Mothers report, published earlier this year by the National Committee on Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths (NCCEMD), 4 867 maternal deaths were recorded between 2008 and 2010. 186 of those women died of a septic miscarriage in public healthcare facilities, 23 percent of which were the direct result of an unsafe abortion.
Although there is limited formal data on the subject, the number of deaths caused by unsafe abortion is likely far higher than recorded since the NCCEMD only took into account cases in public health facilities.
