Poor Choices: Sarah_Elliott_Poor_Choices_9

KIBERA SLUM – JULY 9: A 46-year old Kenyan woman who has never been married has four children, 22, 18 and 14 year old twins. During the day she runs a small restaurant, but it's not enough to support her family; at night she is a sex worker. Men will pay her 200 Kenya shillings to sleep with her when they wear a condom, and 500 Kenya shillings when they do not. She is HIV positive and guesses that the men who do not want to wear a condom are too, though she never tells them of her status. Nine months ago she procured her 3rd unsafe abortion in Kibera. She paid 200 Kenya shillings to a woman who used a soda straw to blow a liquid into her uterus, inducing labor. She was 6 months pregnant. Many single women in Kenya living in slums like Kibera live day to day, and do not have the money upfront to pay for a termination. By the time women have raised the funds to pay for such a procedure they can be 6 to 7 months pregnant. {quote}It is very scary, I may die and leave my children alone, but am forced by my circumstance. I cannot afford another child.{quote} After her 3rd abortion she developed fibroids, a benign tumor of the uterus, which can cause prolonged bleeding, pelvic pressure and pain. She has been bleeding for the last 9 months, but cannot afford the operation to fix it. She sits in the restaurant that she runs on July 9th, 2010 in the slum of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya.

KIBERA SLUM – JULY 9: A 46-year old Kenyan woman who has never been married has four children, 22, 18 and 14 year old twins. During the day she runs a small restaurant, but it's not enough to support her family; at night she is a sex worker. Men will pay her 200 Kenya shillings to sleep with her when they wear a condom, and 500 Kenya shillings when they do not. She is HIV positive and guesses that the men who do not want to wear a condom are too, though she never tells them of her status. Nine months ago she procured her 3rd unsafe abortion in Kibera. She paid 200 Kenya shillings to a woman who used a soda straw to blow a liquid into her uterus, inducing labor. She was 6 months pregnant. Many single women in Kenya living in slums like Kibera live day to day, and do not have the money upfront to pay for a termination. By the time women have raised the funds to pay for such a procedure they can be 6 to 7 months pregnant. "It is very scary, I may die and leave my children alone, but am forced by my circumstance. I cannot afford another child." After her 3rd abortion she developed fibroids, a benign tumor of the uterus, which can cause prolonged bleeding, pelvic pressure and pain. She has been bleeding for the last 9 months, but cannot afford the operation to fix it. She sits in the restaurant that she runs on July 9th, 2010 in the slum of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya.