Abortion
"Abortion" has always been a controversial issue, although it has been talked about recently, especially with the decision taken in the USA. Abortion, which the USA no longer recognizes as a constitutional right, is a human right issue with many sociological, economic and political dimensions.
With the restrictions on abortion rights being criticized all over the world, we have compiled and concentrated the most basic abortion topics that we need to know about for you.
What is Abortion?
Abortion is the process of medically ending a pregnancy. Although it is popularly referred to as "aborting a baby", it does not only mean terminating unwanted pregnancies. Abortion may also be necessary in pregnancy-related anomalies or situations that endanger the mother's health.
In its simplest form; Abortion is the process of cleaning the inside of the uterus.
How To?
The most common abortion method today is vacuum abortion. During the abortion, the pregnancy is vacuumed together with the uterine tissue using thin plastic tubes called cannulas, and the procedure is completed within 5-10 minutes.
Statistics from around the world
According to the research results of the World Health Organization; Approximately 210 million pregnancies occur in the world every year.
70 million of these are unwanted pregnancies.
46 million people end their pregnancies with an induced miscarriage.
19 million of the abortions occur through unsafe methods.
One person dies every 8 minutes due to unsafe abortion.
Today, approximately 15% of women in Turkey state that they have had an abortion at least once in their lives.
Legalization Process in Turkey
Abortion is included within the scope of medical necessity in Turkey with the Law on Population Planning No. 557, which was first enacted in 1965.
In 1983, with the Law on Population Planning No. 2827, the right to safe abortion became legal until the end of the 10th week of pregnancy.
Legal; However, its accessibility is a "big" question mark...
Access to birth control methods is becoming more difficult.
As it becomes more difficult for women to terminate a pregnancy, it also becomes more difficult to prevent pregnancy. Due to the policies implemented in Turkey since 2012, most birth control methods are no longer available free of charge.
Coils, condoms, birth control pills and needles are in less supply than before. This situation not only increases pregnancy but also brings unwanted pregnancies. Women and other pregnant individuals who want to have an abortion either have to turn to under-the-counter solutions or seek consent from their spouses and parents and go to hospitals.
The number of public hospitals providing elective abortion services in Turkey is gradually decreasing.
While illegal attitudes towards the right to abortion are displayed in most existing hospitals, arbitrary decisions taken such as "at the doctor's initiative", "forbidden or illegal", or "applicable to married individuals" endanger the lives of women every day.
Exorbitant prices are charged in public hospitals.
Women who cannot receive service in public hospitals face economic barriers when they are directed to the private sector.
Let's remember together the "Reproductive Health Strategic Action Plan" published by the Ministry of Health in 2005. In the plan, it was emphasized that it was necessary to reduce the need for abortion in order to reduce miscarriages and deaths related to miscarriages, and the necessary steps were listed as follows;
We wanted to finish the closing with these goals and left the decision up to you.
Where do you think we are with these goals?
