Background: In many developing countries, maternal deaths occur mainly as a result of
unsafe abortions, a situation reflecting the inaccessibility of safe abortion services in such
countries. In Ethiopia, unsafe abortion accounts for 32% of maternal deaths and almost
60% of gynaecological admissions, and is one of the top ten causes of general hospital
admissions.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the views of women about the
accessibility of safe abortion services in governmental health centres.
Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional descriptive and non-experimental study using
structured questionnaires was conducted. 342 women who had received abortion care
services in governmental health centres participated.

Findings: 46.8% of the participants do not know about the penal code regarding safe
abortion care. 52.9% of the participants viewed safe abortion care as inaccessible because
there are various and competing factors which make abortion service to be viewed as
accessible or inaccessible and these include distance to nearest health centre, the time it
takes to receive the service, the cost of the service, and the lack of appropriate skills in the
service providers.

Conclusion: An improvement in the accessibility of abortion services will prevent deaths
resulting from unsafe abortions.