Women undergoing abortion in Turkey face prison sentenceJuly 18, 2012 - 11:49 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Women in Turkey who undergo medically unnecessary abortions after 10 weeks of pregnancy may be sentenced to one to three years in prison if a new bill passes, Hürriyet Daily News reported. The public uproar over the abortion debate delayed the proposal, but Health Minister Recep Akdağ already made a presentation to the Cabinet about the planned bill. The proposal gives doctors and healthcare personnel the right to refuse to perform abortions. Doctors will also be obliged to provide lectures and services to convince the parents not to abort. The medical reasons for abortions will also be altered. While no change to the time limitation was included, the punishment for violation is set to increase. The draft also calls for the replacement of family planning regulations with reproductive health services, as well as increasing the budget provided for painless birthing methods. Parental leave and breast-feeding assistance will also expand. Another change proposed will replace the consent of a parent or guardian with a judicial ruling as a requirement to abort fetuses resulting from incest. The abuser will be sentenced to six to 15 years. Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18. Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |