Abortion legal period kept the same: Akdağ

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The legal period for abortion, which is 10 weeks, remains the same and will be 20 weeks for situations like life-threatening diseases, says Recep Akdağ. AA photo

The 10-week-long legal period for abortions will not be changed when a new law regulating cesarean sections and abortions comes into effect, Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdağ recently said.

In the cases of rape or life-threatening situations the legal term will be 20 weeks and doctors will be given the right to dismiss patients if they don’t wish to perform the operation.

Additionally, the new law will make it more difficult to have an abortion as patients will be forced to see a consultant and undergo a period of reflection to “re-consider her decision.”

“The legal period for abortion, which is 10 weeks, remains the same and will be 20 weeks for situations like rape or life-threatening diseases. We are against abortion as a method of birth control. We will launch a consultancy system. Unfortunately, we frequently face mothers looking to obtain a second or third abortion. We will let [the patient] re-consider her decision. Their demand will not be put into process immediately and we will give doctors the right to refuse to perform abortions,” Akdağ said Dec. 25 on private broadcast CNN Turk.

The government’s policy aimed to promote families to have more children, Akdağ said, adding that their intention was not to intervene in individuals’ family planning.

When Akdağ was asked about women’s concerns regarding records kept on abortions performed he said any medical operation was recorded by law and this was the correct way to conduct medical issues.

According to Akdağ, abortion can cause serious harm to a mothers’ health and costs a life for the baby.
Since 1983, abortion has been legal in Turkey up to 10 weeks after conception, with emergency abortions allowed for specific medical reasons after that.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proposed in May that all abortions not medically necessary be outlawed while severely limiting medically required abortions to the first eight weeks after conception.

“There is no difference in killing the fetus in a mother’s womb or killing a person after birth,” Erdoğan said May 28 in comments that sparked an uproar in the country and resulted in thousands of women and men taking to the streets in protest of the prime minister’s words.