Women's views on abortion legislation in Yaounde city

Abstract

Introduction: access to abortion is restrictive in Cameroon. The legislation authorizes the act in two cases: when the pregnancy results from a rape or when it puts the pregnant woman at serious risk for her health. Abortion outside this legal framework is considered illegal. This article identifies and analyses the opinions of women living in the capital Yaounde, on national legal provisions relating to abortion. Methods: thirty-five (35) semi-structured interviews were conducted in Yaounde with women aged 19 to 40. Study participants recruited from consultations (family planning or maternal and child health service) contributed to the selection of other respondents using the snowball method. The data collected were the subject of a thematic analysis of content. Results: more than half of those surveyed are against decriminalization. The transgressive dimension associated with abortion constitutes the main argument supporting the refusal of a possible relaxation of the legislation. The reason for health security is advanced in the opinions encouraging decriminalization. The difficulty of positioning oneself or the participants silence is an illustration of the sensitive nature of the subject of abortion. Conclusion: abortion in its essence carries tensions emanating from interactions between institutional logics, social group norms and individual aspirations. The polarization of debates is a brake on the examination of the issue of decriminalization from a multidimensional perspective.