There are three main options for a pregnant teenager: keeping the baby, abortion or adoption. Each of these choices should be thought about carefully considering the specific circumstances of the pregnant teenager, her partner and their families.

1. Keeping the baby
Rene’s story: “I’d always wanted a baby, so when I fell pregnant after having sex with an older guy when I was drunk, I knew I would do everything I could to keep the baby. My friends thought I should have an abortion, so I could concentrate on my studies as I am a good student. But I kept my baby. Trying to bring her up has been much harder than I thought. But now she is 3 years old and I am back at school. I find it hard to balance looking after her with my studies, but I am very grateful to my granny for helping me look after her.”
While having a baby can be a wonderful experience, many teenagers are not ready for parenthood, so deciding to be a parent as a teenager is not an easy choice.
The responsibility of being a good parent and the financial responsibilities of caring for a child can be overwhelming for a young person, but with help and support of family and friends, a teenage parent can flourish, and raise a healthy, balanced child.

2. Adoption
Vicky’s story: “I was 15 when I fell pregnant and didn’t know what to do. My boyfriend and I felt we were too young to care for a baby, so we went and told our parents. We were really scared because we thought they would be angry and they were at first, but then we all sat down together and spoke about the different options. In the end we decided I would have the baby and we would give it up for adoption. It has been 2 years since I gave my baby up for adoption. It has been hard. I think about him often, but I think I made the right decision. I am no longer with his dad and I am doing well at school. I know my baby is being well looked after.”
Adoption is another option available to a young couple. It takes a lot of courage, maturity and love to recognise that someone else could possibly be able to provide your child with a better future. Nowadays, most adoptions are done with a lot of love and sensitivity. In some communities and traditions, adoption is not readily accepted and teenagers who want to give up a child for adoption might face discrimination. If you are considering adoption as an option, speak to a GOLD facilitator about how you could go about this.

3. Abortion or Termination of Pregnancy
Thuli’s story “When I found out I was pregnant I was going through such a hard time trying to figure out what I really wanted to do. I cried every night, thinking about having to kill the baby inside me, connected to me, through blood, my own child. I had my abortion yesterday, the day after my 18th birthday. I started crying when they were doing the procedure. I am so heartbroken. I knew I would regret it, but I didn’t know it would be this hard.... but I know I made the right decision for myself at this time.”

Legal Abortion

Different countries have different laws about abortion. Abortion-on-demand is legal in South Africa for women and girls of any age. In Botswana and Zambia abortion-on-demand is illegal.
In South Africa, although abortion has been legal since 1996, only about 3% of teens use legal services. This is because they don’t have information on the costs involved and at what stage of pregnancy they can have an abortion.
In South Africa, anyone can ask for an abortion in the first 12 weeks (3 months) of pregnancy and an abortion can be recommended from 3 to 5 months in special circumstances.
Teens are advised to consult their parents, but they don’t have to get their parents permission to have an abortion.

Anyone who has an abortion has the right to ask for counseling before and after the abortion, but not all health centres provide this counseling, so this is something to be aware of as counseling is really important when facing this big life decision.
Depending on the stage of the pregnancy, there are different types of abortion that can be conducted.
To have an abortion, girls need to go through Government family planning clinics. They need to have a pregnancy test done at the clinic and get a letter from the clinic to book a date at the hospital to have the abortion procedure done. Some clinics charge for the pregnancy test. The government hospitals don’t charge for the abortion procedure. It is very important that girls insist on getting pre and post abortion counselling.

To discuss abortion or to be referred to a local clinic offering counselling, call:

Pregnancy Help Centre | 021 7885844 (Muizenberg)
Jubilee Health Centre | 021 447 3630 (Observatory)
Options Care Centre | 013 752 6445 (Nelspruit)
House of New Beginnings | 031 903 7359 (East Amanzimtoti)
Centre of HOPE Clinic | 031 304 3734 (East Durban)

In Zambia and Botswana abortion is only allowed if it is necessary to save the life or prevent permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the mother, or if the child is likely to be severely handicapped. A legal abortion must also be done by a registered physician in a government hospital or other approved institution, which can be difficult for most teens to access.

Illegal Abortion

There are many reasons girls choose to go for illegal abortions, including the fact that abortions are illegal in some countries (Botswana, Zambia), difficulty in getting to a legal abortion clinic or being worried about being found out.

Illegal abortions are very unsafe and are not protected by laws and medical standards. The people who perform them may have had little training in how to deal with the procedure, or complications that may happen. Also known as ‘backstreet’ abortions, they don’t happen in regular clinics and instead are performed in unhygienic surroundings which make them even more unsafe. Sometimes out of desperation, young women may even try to destroy the fetus themselves (self abort) using poisons, chemicals, or sharp objects. Illegal, or ‘backstreet’, and self-inflicted abortions are extremely dangerous and the risks include:

• Incomplete abortion (part of the fetus remains in the womb)
  
• Infections, which spread to the rest of the body
  
• Hemorrhaging (internal bleeding)
  
• Tearing of internal organs
  
• Inability to have children in the future

By having an illegal abortion a young women is putting her life in serious danger and risking long-term health problems.