Despite the government ban, some of the banned medicines, mainly those used in medical abortion, are said to be easily available in the local drug market. The medicines manufactured for abortion by Indian companies and pharmaceuticals are “openly” sold in many drug stores. [break]
Unauthorized drugs such as Preg Not Kit, Mifeprin Kit, Mtprost kit, Mifegest Kit, Undezire Kit, Lytolog 1 Strip, Pregno 1 Strip, Mtpill 1 Strip and some others can be found in market. Their unchecked sales have adversely affected public health, leading to deaths of women in some cases.
The death of a pregnant woman last week proved that the ban on a number of drugs has remained only on paper. The woman of Kalimati lost her life while aborting six-month foetus using one of the unlicensed drugs.
Similar was the case of Rajmati Bhatta (27), a mother of three children, of Pipaladi–9 in Kanchanpur. She succumbed to profuse bleeding while undergoing abortion with the help of an untrained service provider.
Government officials admit the widespread availability and sale of prohibited drugs.
Dr Sudha Sharma, Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Population says authorities are concerned over the easy accessibility to banned drugs.
“We’ll coordinate with the concerned quarters to monitor the banned drugs and take stern action against those who defy the existing laws”, she says. Radha Raman Prasad, Director of the Department of Drug Administration (DDA), also says the sale of unlicensed drugs is rife in the outlying areas of the country.
As many Indian products rule the roost in Nepal, so is the case of drugs. According to Nawa Raj Joshi of Beldandi VDC–5, Kanchanpur, most of the pharmacists in the bordering areas bring banned drugs from India and sell them in Nepal.
“Such illegal act has not only posed a serious threat to the lives of women, but has also undermined the rule of law causing a loss to state exchequer”, Joshi adds.
In September 2002, the then government legalized abortion and started offering abortion services in public hospitals by amending the Civil Code. On one hand, the move brought respite to women seeking to end unwanted pregnancies, but it helped increase open sale of banned drugs on the other hand.
Government hospitals, Marie Stops Clinic, Family Planning Association of Nepal and some other service providers are the only health centers enlisted for safe abortion. The DDA has only allowed Medabon—a combination of Mifepristone and Misoprostol—for the use in abortion.
“The use of drugs other than Medabon is illegal and non-compliance with the law of the land is subjected to punishment,” says DDA Director Prasad. According to him, it is very tough to monitor drugs owing to lack of adequate resources and a large swath of open border with India.
Meanwhile, despite abortions being legalized, a large number of women in rural areas are serving jail sentences for aborting foetuses. Legally a woman can terminate pregnancy within 90 days and a rape victim is allowed to abort within 18 weeks.
An estimated 57,000 unsafe abortions take place in Nepali every year. An alarming number of 5,000 Nepali women die annually due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth.
An average 15 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriages. More than 300,000 women have undergone safe abortions after the legalization of abortion. Around 1,162 doctors and nurses have been trained to carry out abortion service, according to Dr Sharma.
The legalization of abortion has helped bring down maternal mortality rate drastically, a positive step toward achieving Millennium Development Goals in reducing Maternal Mortality rate.
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