By Lavern de Vries

As the festive season draws to a close, abortion clinics are gearing up for an anticipated rise in the number of teenagers seeking abortions.

Private abortion service provider Marie Stopes reports that a new trend is emerging, with an increase in teenagers requesting abortions after the holidays.

"The demand for abortions spiked after the December 2006 holidays. This year we envisage an increase of between 10 and 14 percent," said spokesperson Jock Strachan.

The majority of the women rushing to the centre were under 18. This age group had climbed to represent nearly four percent of the total abortions performed by Marie Stopes South Africa, said Strachan. Ten years ago the figure was one percent.

"What happens is that teenagers go on holiday after the exams and they have very little or no parental supervision as their parents are at work. So they have unprotected sex and come to us for help."

Figures go up after the June school holidays, too. In July 2007 82 abortions were performed on women in this age group and in January 2007, 125 abortions.

Strachan said the total number of abortions performed by the clinic increased by 13.6% in 2007 in comparison to 2006.

"But there had not been a significant change in the number of procedures done on those under 18 over the past two years. Our concern is the swell over the school holiday period," he said.

While many of the teenagers are younger than 16, the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Bill does not require parental consent for a child to have an abortion. However, Strachan said as many as 74 percent of young women did consult an adult, such as a teacher or a relative, before turning to terminating the pregnancy.

"Many of them have the R1 500 or the R600 at outreach posts required for the procedure. Sometimes, they pool money with their boyfriends to pay for the abortion," he said.

The clinic advised young women who wanted to end an unwanted pregnancy to seek help as soon as possible.

Strachan also warned young women not to undergo backstreet abortions as these could lead to infections and even death.