Marie Stopes Papua New Guinea (MSPNG)

MSPNG Country Director, Dr David Ayres raised concerns in relation to an incident recently reported in the news about a young lady, only 16-years old, who lost her life because of an unplanned pregnancy, which she was trying to abort. 

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time a young woman has died because of an unplanned pregnancy in PNG, and it won’t be the last,” Dr. Ayres said.

Soon enough, there's a knock on the door and the women quietly enter the clinic while their husbands keep watch in the dark.

One talks of her failure to access family planning at her local health centre because the nurse was from her village.

“If I went to her, I knew my family and community would find out the same day that I have gone looking for family planning,” she says.

“Using modern family planning methods is against the social and religious beliefs of my family and community. I cannot risk it.”