Not a day goes by without us hearing about women here in Iraq who are desperate to get rid of a fetus growing in their wombs, legally or illegally. Women resort to abortion for many different reasons, including a poor economic situation, that she already has many children or that the situation between the woman and the husband is bad. In some cases, women are even threatened with divorce if they keep the child. If a pregnancy occurs in a so-called temporary or secret marriage, it could threaten the lives of both spouses involved.
Some women here are subject to rape but do not disclose it due to fear and anxiety over what the consequences may be. The worst is if the rape results in pregnancy and the woman cannot have an abortion.
In places where abortion remains illegal, women oftentimes put their lives at risk. They can easily be exploited by health workers conducting their work away from the eyes of the law in secret clinics. Under Iraqi law, abortion is banned since the state religion is Islam and Islam prohibits abortion. Those who help perform an abortion in Iraq can also be punished and go to prison. It is considered an aggravating circumstance for the offender if he is a doctor, pharmacist, chemist, midwife or one of their assistants. Abortion only remains legal in some very few cases in Iraq, such as if the pregnancy is the result of incest or if it threatens the life of the woman.
It is noteworthy that Iraq still maintains reservations about the abortion clause within the provisions of the international women’s rights bill CEDAW (The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women). Iraq’s Ministry of Health should instead provide free contraceptives, medical consultations, and reproductive health care for women through a robust family planning program.
