Morocco Grapples with Illegal Abortion Pill Trade on Social Media

Some social media platforms offer women with unwanted pregnancies pills or tablets used for abortion or "voluntary termination of pregnancy". A practice that worries consumer associations. For Bouazza Kherrati, president of the Moroccan Union of Consumer Rights, "the spread of these pills is worrying and requires new solutions from the security authorities, who are tracking down the sellers." The official also stressed "the need for the public prosecutor’s office to take action ex officio based on monitoring these ads and launching investigations."

In a statement to Hespress, Kherrati called on the competent authorities to take appropriate measures to identify the perpetrators of these "criminal acts". "The digital space poses a different kind of difficulty, which calls for an intervention adapted to the challenges it presents," he added, recalling that "the issue has been raised several times, but monitoring reveals its persistence, which raises many questions about the effectiveness of the methods and means used to fight this problem that threatens the lives of many women." The online sale of these drugs, while prohibited in pharmacies, "constitutes an undeniable threat to public health and the lives of consumers," he denounces.

"The Penal Code punishes with prison sentences and fines the promotion of these pills, due to their serious repercussions on health," said the president of the Regional Federation of Consumer Rights of Souss-Massa, adding that "these tablets can only be sold on medical prescription, and are prescribed for other chronic diseases and not for abortion." "Consumer protection requires firm intervention by the authorities to enforce the law against those who exploit the health of Moroccan women and promote contraband products, especially those coming from Algeria," he added.

These tablets "constitute a risk to the mother’s health," said a gynecology-obstetrics specialist, noting however that they can be used exclusively by a specialist physician when a pregnancy has stopped early in a woman, in order to avoid any infection, but this is done under strict medical supervision. "To eradicate this phenomenon, we need to strengthen surveillance, activate professional conscience and further raise awareness among women," the specialist advised. Meanwhile, women’s organizations continue to call for the "return of these tablets to pharmacies, as they will prevent the use of traditional abortion methods."