Marie Stopes national spokesman Laila Abbas says their costs vary from centre to centre. Pricing also varies depending on the gestational age – the number of weeks of the pregnancy.

“Pricing is also different depending on whether the patient opts for a medical (pills) or surgical (MVA) procedure.

"Prices can range from R600 to R3,260.

"We also have subsidised clinics in the Eastern Cape with pricing ranging from R270 to R1,120."

The clinics offer counselling.

“Absolutely, it is part of Marie Stopes protocol to discuss contraceptive methods with our clients. This is normally done during the counselling session. We are not judgmental, hence we cannot tell our clients to be more responsible.

“However, the termination is discussed and we ensure that the clients are told that they should definitely not see this termination as a contraceptive method. We also encourage our clients to leave with some form of contraception.

“A lot of women go to the backstreet abortions because they are afraid of being recognised. Most of these women are poor and they live far from the clinics and hospitals.

“In most cases, women go there because they are more than 20 weeks into their pregnancies – and the law does not allow abortion after that period.”