A 27-year-old woman was denied access to an abortion, despite the law allowing for abortion services in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, at multiple clinics in Turkey, forcing her to seek help from a cheap private clinic. After the operation, she soon began experiencing complications and received help from a public hospital where she learned that her abortion was not fully completed by the private clinic. Many women are affected by the crackdown on abortions in Turkey. While free abortion services at public hospitals are completely legal upon request within 10 weeks of pregnancy, less than 10% of Turkish provinces have a public hospital that is willing to perform an abortion. Due to the increasing influence of the right-wing government in the healthcare system, public health administration has pressured physicians to deny women safe access to an abortion in public hospitals. Without access to abortions through the public system, women are forced to turn to dangerous and “underground” clinics to receive the procedure.
Compiled from: The Guardian, “‘It was my right, but they refused’: Turkish women denied access to free, safe abortions,” The Guardian (July 5, 2022).