Family Minister backs Turkish PM on abortion, Caesarean births

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

Fatma Şahin. AA Photo

Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin has expressed support for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s distaste for Caesarean births and belief that “abortion is murder,” saying those who criticized the leader were "distanced from science."
 
"The World Health Organization advises a rate of 15-20 percent of Caesarean births," Şahin told reporters. "In Turkey, every one of two women gets a Caesarean operation."
 
Caesarean births carry risks for the mother and should be conducted only if it is medically required for the health of the baby and the mother, Şahin said.
 
"I am saddened especially by women's reaction toward our prime minister [on the accusation] that the prime minister is intervening in women's private lives," Şahin said. "When women's health is concerned, what our prime minister said is a scientific fact."
 
Şahin further commented on the abortion controversy, saying the requirements for undergoing abortion were already set. Stating that the state had no place in dictating birth control methods, she added that such pre-requirements should be considered before an abortion is needed.
 
"Abortion and ending pregnancy, which is what our prime minister called 'murder,' is ending the pregnancy after ignoring birth control methods," Şahin said. "If you destroy a life and have an abortion after you ignore birth control methods beforehand, then this is a violation of the right to live."
 
Şahin suggested that those who disagree with the prime minister should check WHO reports to fully understand the concept.
 
"I condemn those people for distancing their critiques from science," Şahin said, taking aim at the opposition's criticism toward Erdoğan.
 
"They say that everything the government says is wrong," Şahin said.