Ahead of International Safe Abortion Day, Nurse Begizesh shares how abortion access is life-saving.
For over a decade, Begizesh has provided comprehensive counselling to MSI Ethiopia clients to ensure they’re aware of all their options before making the choice that is right for them. She believes in the power of reproductive choice to allow women the freedom to live their lives in whatever way they choose.
“You use it to achieve your goals. It means you can plan the number of children and can plan for their schooling. The family who uses family planning has better economic capacity. I have seen this with myself, my relatives and neighbours who diligently use it. It has also helped me to provide for my kids.”
Begizesh takes pride in providing abortion services to women and girls, and has seen a huge impact of these services on her wider community.
“Previously, I saw women who took traditional medicine to conduct abortions and lost their lives. Not anymore – now it is improving due to safe abortion services being given.”
Despite being a nurse for many years, Begizesh is still incredibly moved by the impact she makes on the lives of women and girls. This fuels her drive to continue this life-changing work.
“I love my job. It has been over a decade since I’ve been working for MSI.
One day, a mother who works as a street cleaner came to us, crying when she arrived. As you can imagine, street cleaners leave home very early in the morning. She went out early in the morning to earn a living for her family and ended up a victim of sexual violence. It was heart-breaking. Sadly, there are many such stories we encounter here.
When you help these women, there are no words to explain the relief you see. There are many things that make you emotional. That is what motivates me, above everything.”
Last year, MSI averted an estimated 368,000 unsafe abortions in Ethiopia and 8.8 million globally. 2025 marked twenty years since abortion law reform in Ethiopia – and since then, the country has seen a 70% drop in maternal deaths.
Nurses like Begizesh are who make this change possible, turning up to work every day to provide safe abortion services that change and save lives.
