Six hundred and fifty seven women in Myagdi underwent abortion in the last six months of the running fiscal year, according to the District Public Health Office (DPHO). 

More than 80 per cent of these women were in the 20 to 25 years age bracket and 5 per cent were teenagers, between the ages 15 and 17 years.

Upama Baral, district coordinator of Safe Abortion Services of the DPHO, said most of the teenagers who took abortion service had married at early ages. But that is not to say that terminating pregnancy is uncommon practice among unmarried teenagers and young women in the district, she added. 

Safe abortion service is available at the District Hospital, Darbang Primary Health Centre and at least a dozen government health posts in Myagdi. Besides, the service is also offered by several private clinics.

Lila Gautam, an auxiliary nursing midwife, said safe abortion service has helped many women in rural areas to avoid unwanted pregnancies. 

These days, she said, women from far-flung villages are also visiting the District Hospital in Beni and health posts close to their villages for abortion service. 

The number of abortions in Myagdi has rose steadily in the recent years. 

In the fiscal year 2015-16, 1,381 women had their pregnancies terminated at the government-run health facilities. In the fiscal year 2014-15, safe abortion service was received by 1,063 women.