As Families Shrink, Abortions Grow In Central Asia
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
from The Radio Free Europe
According to unofficial figures, in Kazakhstan alone at least 130,000 abortions take place every year. Raigul Rysbai-Qyzy, a medical doctor in Almaty's 1st Clinic, says some of her patients are unmarried girls who know little about pregnancy and how to prevent it:
"Usually, their mothers bring them here," she says. "As you may know, in Kazakh families, mothers do everything to hide things like this from elders in the family -- husbands and other relatives -- because it could evoke very dangerous reactions from them. But abortion itself is very dangerous for a young girl, because [in the future] she has to give birth to children."
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According to unofficial figures, in Kazakhstan alone at least 130,000 abortions take place every year. Raigul Rysbai-Qyzy, a medical doctor in Almaty's 1st Clinic, says some of her patients are unmarried girls who know little about pregnancy and how to prevent it:
"Usually, their mothers bring them here," she says. "As you may know, in Kazakh families, mothers do everything to hide things like this from elders in the family -- husbands and other relatives -- because it could evoke very dangerous reactions from them. But abortion itself is very dangerous for a young girl, because [in the future] she has to give birth to children."
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