Jail terms sought for 18 doctors for not reporting teen pregnancies to authorities

ISTANBUL – Demirören News Agency

An Istanbul prosecutor is seeking six months to 3.5 years in jail for 18 doctors for not notifying authorities about the pregnancies of teenage girls, most of whom are Syrians.

The indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said that the doctors failed to notify judicial authorities of 348 pregnant minors, majority of whom are Syrians and who applied for medical care at the Bağcılar Training and Research Hospital in 2017.

The indictment sought from six months to 3.5 years in jail for each of the 10 doctors for not reporting more than one underage pregnancy to judicial authorities (as is legally required), while from six months to two years in jail for each of the eight doctors for not reporting one underage pregnancy case.

According to regulations that should be enforced by the Health Ministry, prosecutors or police forces should be notified in all cases of teen pregnancies under the age of 18.

Cases involving teens younger than 15 automatically qualify as “sexual abuse.”

Of the 348 pregnant minors, 34 of them were under the age of 15, the majority of whom are Syrians, the indictment said.

The indicted 18 doctors will appear before the Bakırköy 2nd Penal Court of First Instance in the coming days.