Abortion in Cameroon
{{Short description|none}}
Abortion in Cameroon is only legal if the abortion will save the woman's life, the pregnancy gravely endangers the woman's physical or mental health, or the pregnancy is a result of rape.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3iNmQIP7S2AC|title=Abortion Policies: A Global Review|last1=Division|first1=United Nations Dept of Economic and Social Affairs Population|last2=population|first2=Nations Unies Division de la|date=2001|publisher=United Nations Publications|isbn=9789211513653|language=en}}
Statistics
In 1997, a survey in Yaoundé found 20 percent of women aged 20–29 had had at least one abortion.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.guttmacher.org/about/journals/ipsrh/2003/03/although-abortion-highly-restricted-cameroon-it-not-uncommon-among|title=Although Abortion Is Highly Restricted in Cameroon, It Is Not Uncommon Among Young Urban Women|date=2005-09-08|journal=International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health|volume=29 |access-date=2016-06-21 |last1=Hollander |first1=D. |issue=1 |pages=49–50 |doi=10.2307/3181002 |jstor=3181002 |url-access=subscription }}{{cite journal|jstor=3181117|title=Abortion Risk and Decisionmaking among Young People in Urban Cameroon|first=Anne-Emmanuèle|last=Calvès|journal=Studies in Family Planning |date=2002|volume=33|issue=3|pages=249–260|doi=10.1111/j.1728-4465.2002.00249.x |pmid=12385086 }} 80 percent of these procedures took place in a medical facility, but they were not always safe, and women often faced complications. The odds that a pregnant woman would seek an abortion were increased if they were educated or had children. Of women reporting past abortions, 40% had two or more. The survey found that 35% of all reported pregnancies in the capital city ended in abortion.
Abortion access
In 1990, the Cameroon government passed Act No. 90/035 to prohibit birth control education.{{Cite journal|date=1999|title=Women's Reproductive Rights in Cameroon: A Shadow Report|url=http://www.reproductiverights.org/sites/default/files/documents/sr_cam_1199_eng.pdf|journal=Center for Reproductive Law and Policy|access-date=21 June 2016}} Reports found that abortion and secretive reproductive health services were widespread and made up 40 percent of OB/GYN emergency admissions. However, most access to abortion clinics were limited to urban centers within the country.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Abortion in Africa}}
{{Human rights in Cameroon}}
{{Cameroon topics}}