Abortion in Occupied Palestinian Territories
Some harsh truths
Want to know something that's never talked about?
Abortion in Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
Article 8 of Palestinian Public Health Law No. 20 (2004): in the West Bank and Gaza, abortion is prohibited by any means unless necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life.
How many people know this?
One study found that in OPT "abortion is illegal in all cases, even in extramarital pregnancy. It is only allowed for health reasons for the mother or for fetal anomalies. The law doesn’t allow for anything else, even for unmarried women or rape. They don’t do it."
Another woman in OTP said : "I know that no doctor will allow me to abort without a reason—it’s not easily found here with us, unless it’s in a private way or through someone important you know. But still it’s not common.…Everything is in secret. If it’s a medical issue for the woman, then it’s fine. But not for other reasons."
Palestinian hospitals regularly turn women away when they ask for an abortion:
"Because abortion is illegal and highly restricted in the OPT, Palestinian women seeking an abortion are forced to turn to Israeli hospitals, to expensive Palestinian clinics, or to self-induced termination."
"While neither hospital policies nor the law prevent hospitals or physicians from providing post-abortion care, some women may understandably avoid seeking such care out of fear."
Many women in OTP attempt to carry out self-induced abortions:
Access to abortion is far easier in Jerusalem:
Source: Maffi I, Tønnessen L. The Limits of the Law: Abortion in the Middle East and North Africa. Health Hum Rights. 2019 Dec;21(2):1-6. PMID: 31885431; PMCID: PMC6927385.