The"complications"of"unsafe,"illegal"abortion"are"a"significant"cause"of"maternal mortality"in"
Botswana." The" stigma" attached" to" abortion" leads" some" women" to" seek" clandestine"
procedures,"or"alternatively,"to"carry"the"foetus"to"term"and"abandon"the"infant"at"birth."I"
conducted"research"into"perceptions"of"abortion"in"urban"Botswana"in"order"to"understand"
the"social"and"cultural"obstacles"to"women’s"reproductive"autonomy," focusing"particularly"
on" attitudes" to" terminating" a" pregnancy." I" carried" out" 21" qualitative," semiAstructured"
interviews" with" female" and" male" urban" adult" Batswana." Further" research" is" required" to"
examine" perceptions" of" abortion" in" rural" areas." Restrictive" laws" must" eventually" be"
abolished"to"allow"women"access"to"safe,"timely"abortions."However,"my"findings"suggested"
that" socioAcultural" factors," not" punitive" laws," present" the" greatest" barriers" to" women"
seeking" to" terminate" an" unwanted" pregnancy." These" factors" must" be" addressed" so" that"
effective" local" solutions" to" unsafe" abortion" can" be" generated."