Ruling party bill calls for three-year sentence for abortion after 10 weeks

ISTANBUL

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Women who undergo medically unnecessary abortions after 10 weeks of pregnancy may be sentenced to one to three years in prison if a new bill passes, daily Hürriyet has reported.

The current law requires the woman violating the time limitation to be sentenced to one year in prison and paying fines.

The public uproar over the abortion debate delayed the proposal, but Health Minister Recep Akdağ already made a presentation to the Cabinet about the planned bill.

The proposal gives doctors and healthcare personnel the right to refuse to perform abortions. Doctors will also be obliged to provide lectures and services to convince the parents not to abort.

The medical reasons for abortions will also be altered. While no change to the time limitation was included, the punishment for violation is set to increase.

The draft also calls for the replacement of family planning regulations with reproductive health services, as well as increasing the budget provided for painless birthing methods. Parental leave and breast-feeding assistance will also expand.

Another change proposed will replace the consent of a parent or guardian with a judicial ruling as a requirement to abort fetuses resulting from incest. The abuser will be sentenced to six to 15 years.