BARBARA Crane, the executive vice-president for technical leadership and advocacy for Ipas, an NGO that advocates women’s reproductive rights, says more than 20 years into the epidemic, HIV infection still carries enormous stigma.

“Women who are also dealing with unwanted pregnancies face an even greater burden, thus the case for abortion,” she says.

“Pressure can come from health care providers who say HIV-positive women should not have children; provide women with misleading information about the effects of pregnancy on health or the likelihood that a developing foetus will acquire HIV; or even require that women undergo sterilisation if they are to receive services,” she adds.

“Others only think of condom use. Many HIV-positive women do not receive comprehensive information about contraceptive options,” Crane says.

Dr. Saul Onyango of the Uganda AIDS Commission, adds that Uganda does not have a deliberate family planning policy that targets HIV-positive women as a special group because their entry point is normally care.

“Not only that, most mothers test for HIV when they discover that they are pregnant. The news of a positive sero status can be overwhelming and make an unplanned pregnancy unwanted, hence abortion.

“Knowing early enough would otherwise give them room to make better informed decisions. In addition, many HIV-positive mothers are in sexual relations but are not using family planning,” Onyango says.