Abortion in Qatar

Last updated

Abortion in Qatar is illegal in some circumstances. [1] Under Qatar's penal code, a woman who induces her abortion or who consents to an abortion faces up to five years' imprisonment. Individuals who perform an unauthorized abortion on a woman may face up to five years' imprisonment if she consents, and up to ten years if it is performed without her consent. [1]

Historically, abortion was allowed in Qatar society only if the pregnancy was deemed to endanger the mother's life. [2] Qatar's penal code ratified this convention in 1971 by legalizing abortion in cases where the mother's life would be saved. Furthermore, a law formalized in 1983 states that abortions may be legally performed on pregnancies of less than four months duration if the pregnancy were to cause serious harm to the mother's health if continued, or if there was evidence that the child would be born with untreatable mental or physical deficiencies and both parents consented to the abortion. [1]

Abortions must first be recommended by a medical commission comprising three specialists before it can be performed. By law, abortions must be performed in a government hospital. [1]

Most abortions carried out by residents of Qatar are performed in the country itself rather than abroad. [3] Abortions in Qatar are sometimes performed by women who are pregnant out of wedlock as a direct result of the illegality of giving birth to a child out of wedlock. [4]

Women's Social Role

In Qatar, there is a patriarchal society. It is widely believed in Qatari culture, that women are obligated to participate in housework, while men are not. It is commonly believed that the division between the two sexes is fair in Qatari culture [5] . It is very common in Qatari culture for women to have parental investment into their marriages. Many of the marriages in Qatari culture are arranged marriages. Women are required to wear traditional clothing [6] .

Having children in Qatar is highly encouraged for women. Having children outside of wedlock can result in being imprisoned, due to the ZINA, law, which criminalizes sex outside of a legal marriage, resulting in up to 7 years of imprisonment. [7] It is also known that in Qatari societal standards, women must obtain permission from their husbands or fathers to travel outside of the country [8]

Women who live in Qatar and experience sexual violence, rape, or any form of sexual assault, are times unable to receive necessary reproductive healthcare, because many times, authorities require a marriage certification for these procedures. [9]

Related Research Articles

A shotgun wedding is a wedding arranged in response to pregnancy resulting from premarital sex. The phrase is a primarily U.S. colloquialism, termed as such based on a stereotypical scenario in which the father of the pregnant bride-to-be threatens the reluctant groom with a shotgun in order to ensure that he follows through with the wedding.

Abortion in Germany during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy will not be punished under the law if the condition of mandatory counseling is fulfilled. The same goes later in pregnancy in cases that the pregnancy poses an important danger to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman. In the case that the abortion is because of a rape mandatory counseling is not mandatory. The woman needs to receive counseling, called Schwangerschaftskonfliktberatung, at least three days prior to the abortion and must take place at a state-approved centre, which afterwards gives the applicant a Beratungsschein.

Many jurisdictions have laws applying to minors and abortion. These parental involvement laws require that one or more parents consent or be informed before their minor daughter may legally have an abortion.

Abortion in Israel is permitted when determined by a termination committee, with the vast majority of cases being approved, as of 2019. The rate of abortion in Israel has steadily declined since 1988, and compared to the rest of the world, abortion rates in Israel are moderate. According to government data, in Israel, abortion rates in 2016 dropped steadily to 9 per 1,000 women of childbearing age, lower than England (16.2) and the United States (13.2). 99% of abortions are carried out in the first trimester. Despite allegations of permitting abortion under limited circumstances, Haaretz noted in 2019 that this is not the case, and abortion is almost always permitted in Israel.

Abortion is illegal in El Salvador. The law formerly permitted an abortion to be performed under some limited circumstances, but in 1998 all exceptions were removed when a new abortion law went into effect.

The timeline of women's legal rights (other than voting) represents formal changes and reforms regarding women's rights. The changes include actual law reforms, as well as other formal changes (e.g. reforms through new interpretations of laws by precedents). The right to vote is exempted from the timeline: for that right, see Timeline of women's suffrage. The timeline excludes ideological changes and events within feminism and antifeminism; for that, see Timeline of feminism.

Abortion in Romania is currently legal as an elective procedure during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, and for medical reasons at later stages of pregnancy. In the year 2004, there were 216,261 live births and 191,000 reported abortions, meaning that 46% of the 407,261 reported pregnancies that year ended in abortion.

Abortion in Japan is allowed under a term limit of 22 weeks for endangerment to the health of the pregnant woman, economic hardship, or rape. Chapter XXIX of the Penal Code of Japan makes abortion de jure illegal in the country, but exceptions to the law are broad enough that it is widely accepted and practiced. Exceptions to the prohibition of abortion are regulated by the Maternal Health Protection Law that allows approved doctors to practice abortion on a woman if the pregnancy was the result of rape or if the continuation of the pregnancy endangers the maternal health because of physical or economic reasons. Anyone trying to practice abortion without the consent of the woman will be prosecuted, including the doctors. If a woman is married, consent from her spouse is also needed to approve abortions for socioeconomic reasons, although the rule doesn't apply if she is in a broken marriage, suffering abuse, or other domestic issues. Despite the partner's consent not being necessary for unmarried women and women who were impregnated by abusive partners or through rape, many doctors and medical institutions seek a signature from the man believed to have made the woman pregnant for fear of getting into legal trouble, rights advocates say.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abortion in Colombia</span>

Abortion in Colombia is freely available on request up to the 24th week of pregnancy, due to a ruling by the Constitutional Court on February 21, 2022. Later in pregnancy, it is only allowed in cases of risk of death to the pregnant woman, fetal malformation, or rape, according to a Constitutional Court ruling in 2006.

Abortion in Denmark was fully legalized on 1 October 1973, allowing the procedure to be done electively if a woman's pregnancy has not exceeded its 12th week. Under Danish law, the patient must be over the age of 18 to decide on an abortion alone; parental consent is required for minors, except in special circumstances. An abortion can be performed after 12 weeks if the woman's life or health are in danger. A woman may also be granted an authorization to abort after 12 weeks if certain circumstances are proved to be present.

Abortion in Spain is legal upon request up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, and at later stages for serious risk to the health of the woman or fetal defects.

Abortion in Greece has been fully legalized since 1986, when Law 1609/1986 was passed effective from 3 July 1986. Partial legalization of abortion in Greece was passed in Law 821 in 1978 that provided for the legal termination of a pregnancy, with no time limitation, in the event of a threat to the health or life of the woman. This law also allowed for termination up to the 12th week of pregnancy due to psychiatric indications and to the 20th week due to fetal pathology. Following the passage of the 1986 law, abortions can be performed on-demand in hospitals for women whose pregnancies have not exceeded 12 weeks. In the case of rape or incest, an abortion can occur as late as 19 weeks, and as late as 24 weeks in the case of fetal abnormalities. In case of inevitable risk to the life of the pregnant woman or a risk of serious and continuous damage to her physical or mental health, termination of pregnancy is legal any time before birth. Girls under the age of 18 must get written permission from a parent or guardian before being allowed an abortion.

Abortion in Liechtenstein is illegal in most circumstances with limited exceptions in cases where the life of the pregnant woman is at risk, or where the pregnancy has resulted from a sexual offence. Religion in Liechtenstein is mainly Roman Catholic, which is reflected in the faith of the ruling Princely House of Liechtenstein and in the country's laws and culture around pregnancy.

Forced abortion is a form of reproductive coercion that refers to the act of compelling a woman to undergo termination of a pregnancy against her will or without explicit consent. Forced abortion may also be defined as coerced abortion, and may occur due to a variety of outside forces such as societal pressure, or due to intervention by perpetrators such as an intimate partner, parental guardian, medical practitioners, or others who may cause abortion by force, threat or coercion. It may also occur by taking advantage of a situation where a pregnant individual is unable to give consent, or when valid consent is in question due to duress. This may also include the instances when the conduct was neither justified by medical or hospital treatment, which does not include instances in which the pregnant individual is at risk of life threatening injury due to unsustainable pregnancy. Similar to other forms of reproductive coercion such as forced sterilization, forced abortion may include a physical invasion of female reproductive organs, therefore creating the possibly of causing long term threat or injury preventing viable future pregnancies. Forced abortion is considered a human rights violation by the United Nations due to its failure to comply with the human right to reproductive choice and control without coercion, discrimination, and violence.

Abortion in Uganda is illegal unless performed by a licensed medical doctor in a situation where the woman's life is deemed to be at risk.

Abortion is a controversial topic in Nigeria. Abortion in Nigeria is governed by two laws that differ depending on geographical location. Northern Nigeria is governed by The Penal Code and Southern Nigeria is governed by The Criminal Code. The only legal way to have an abortion in Nigeria is if having the child is going to put the mother's life in danger. However, sex-selective abortion has long had acceptance in Nigeria.

Abortion in Guatemala is illegal, except when needed to save the woman's life. Abortion was illegal without exception prior to 1973. Congressional Decree 17-73 altered the penal code to allow abortion in cases in which the pregnant woman's life is endangered in September 1973. The procedure must be done by a physician and approved by a second doctor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abortion in South Korea</span> Overview of the legality and prevalence of abortions in South Korea

Abortion in South Korea was decriminalized, effective 1 January 2021, by a 2019 order of the Constitutional Court of Korea.

Timeline of women's legal rights (other than voting) represents formal changes and reforms regarding women's rights. That includes actual law reforms as well as other formal changes, such as reforms through new interpretations of laws by precedents. The right to vote is exempted from the timeline: for that right, see Timeline of women's suffrage. The timeline also excludes ideological changes and events within feminism and antifeminism: for that, see Timeline of feminism.

Abortion in Singapore is legal and widely accessible. It was formally legalised in 1974, being one of the first countries in Asia to do so. It is available on request for Singaporean citizens, permanent residents, individuals with an issued student or work pass, individuals who have been a resident of Singapore for a minimum of four months as well as anyone married to a Singaporean citizen or a permanent resident. Foreigners may also obtain an abortion in Singapore if their lives are endangered.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Abortion Policies: A Global Review. Vol. 3. United Nations Publications. 2001. p. 45. ISBN   9789211513653.
  2. ↑ Abu Saud, Abeer (1984). Qatari Women: Past and Present. Longman Group. p. 110. ISBN   978-0582783720.
  3. ↑ Robert Johnston. "Historical abortion statistics, Qatar" . Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Facing jail, unmarried pregnant women in Qatar left with hard choices". Doha News. 27 August 2013. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Liloia, Alainna (2019-11-01). "Gender and Nation Building in Qatar". Journal of Middle East Women's Studies. 15 (3): 344–366. doi:10.1215/15525864-7720683. ISSN   1552-5864.
  6. ↑ "Women in Qatar", Wikipedia, 2024-03-03, retrieved 2024-03-07
  7. ↑ Human Rights Watch, ed. (2022-05-07). World Report 2014. Bristol University Press. ISBN   978-1-4473-1849-1.
  8. ↑ Al-Ghanim, Kaltham (2019-01-02). "Perceptions of Women's Roles between Traditionalism and Modernity in Qatar". Journal of Arabian Studies. 9 (1): 52–74. doi:10.1080/21534764.2019.1646502. ISSN   2153-4764.
  9. ↑ Human Rights Watch, ed. (2022-05-07). World Report 2014. Bristol University Press. ISBN   978-1-4473-1849-1.
WPAbortion-logo.svg

This abortion-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.