Abstract：
Self-managed medical abortions are generally safe; however, pharmacy provision of abortion pills is against the Ghanaian abortion law. Nevertheless, evidence shows increasing numbers of women use it. An understanding of the influence of the law on pharmacies dispensing abortifacients and women who needed hospital care after using these pills is lacking. This study aimed to address this gap.
We conducted 26 interviews with eight pharmacy workers and 18 women who sought hospital care after using abortion pills. Study participants were recruited from private pharmacies and hospitals within the Ashanti Region of Ghana between June 2017 and March 2018. We employed phenomenology in analysing the data.
Results show that criminalising medical abortion care from pharmacies does not stop abortions but rather drives it to be provided without oversight. It also denied pharmacy workers formal training in medical abortion care, resulting in situations where they failed to provide correct dosage information, used their discretion in determining the price of abortifacients and to whom they would dispense the pills. For women, it contributed to limited interaction with providers and an inability to insist on their rights even in instances where the pills were sold at exorbitant prices.
Due to the increasing numbers of Ghanaian women using medical abortion pills from pharmacies, although it is illegal, the ideal would be for medical abortion pills to be made legally available through pharmacies. Given that this may not occur in the short term, an immediate solution would be to upskill pharmacy workers.
We conducted 26 interviews with eight pharmacy workers and 18 women who sought hospital care after using abortion pills. Study participants were recruited from private pharmacies and hospitals within the Ashanti Region of Ghana between June 2017 and March 2018. We employed phenomenology in analysing the data.
Results show that criminalising medical abortion care from pharmacies does not stop abortions but rather drives it to be provided without oversight. It also denied pharmacy workers formal training in medical abortion care, resulting in situations where they failed to provide correct dosage information, used their discretion in determining the price of abortifacients and to whom they would dispense the pills. For women, it contributed to limited interaction with providers and an inability to insist on their rights even in instances where the pills were sold at exorbitant prices.
Due to the increasing numbers of Ghanaian women using medical abortion pills from pharmacies, although it is illegal, the ideal would be for medical abortion pills to be made legally available through pharmacies. Given that this may not occur in the short term, an immediate solution would be to upskill pharmacy workers.
摘要：
背景：自我管理的医疗流产通常是安全的；但是，药房提供堕胎药是违反加纳堕胎法的。然而，证据表明越来越多的女性使用它。缺乏对法律对药房分配流产药和使用这些药丸后需要住院治疗的妇女的影响的理解。本研究旨在弥补这一差距。
方法：我们对8名药房工作人员和18名妇女进行了26次访谈，这些妇女在使用流产药后寻求医院护理。研究参与者在2017年6月至2018年3月期间从加纳Ashanti地区的私人药房和医院招募。我们使用现象学来分析数据。
结果：结果表明，将药房的药物流产护理定为犯罪并不能阻止流产，而是迫使其在没有监督的情况下提供。它还否认药学工作者接受药物流产护理的正式培训，导致他们无法提供正确的剂量信息，使用他们的自由裁量权来确定堕胎剂的价格以及他们将向谁分发药丸。对女人来说,它导致与提供者的互动有限，即使在药丸以高价出售的情况下也无法坚持其权利。
结论：由于越来越多的加纳妇女使用药房的药物流产药，虽然这是非法的,理想的情况是通过药房合法提供药物流产药。鉴于这可能不会在短期内发生，一个直接的解决方案是提高制药工人的技能。
方法：我们对8名药房工作人员和18名妇女进行了26次访谈，这些妇女在使用流产药后寻求医院护理。研究参与者在2017年6月至2018年3月期间从加纳Ashanti地区的私人药房和医院招募。我们使用现象学来分析数据。
结果：结果表明，将药房的药物流产护理定为犯罪并不能阻止流产，而是迫使其在没有监督的情况下提供。它还否认药学工作者接受药物流产护理的正式培训，导致他们无法提供正确的剂量信息，使用他们的自由裁量权来确定堕胎剂的价格以及他们将向谁分发药丸。对女人来说,它导致与提供者的互动有限，即使在药丸以高价出售的情况下也无法坚持其权利。
结论：由于越来越多的加纳妇女使用药房的药物流产药，虽然这是非法的,理想的情况是通过药房合法提供药物流产药。鉴于这可能不会在短期内发生，一个直接的解决方案是提高制药工人的技能。
