Teen’s Death After Illegal Abortion Sparks Debate on Morocco’s Abortion Laws

The minor, Meriem, died on September 7 in Boumia, in the province of Midelt, following a clandestine abortion performed by two health workers. This latest victim of clandestine abortion has rekindled the debate on this practice, which is only allowed in Morocco in cases where the mother’s life is in danger. On Moroccan networks and media, citizens have since been calling for a reform of the Penal Code, which provides for exceptions such as rape, incest or the mother’s mental illness.

"We know that Moroccan society is a conservative society, but we are asking, for exclusively health reasons, that voluntary termination of pregnancy be decriminalized," Chafik Chraibi, president of the Moroccan Association for the Fight against Clandestine Abortion (AMLAC), told EFE. "We demand that the termination of pregnancy be regulated by the Health Code and not by the Penal Code, because this practice is part of the public health policy and the reproductive health of women," adds Atifa Timjerdine, Vice-President of the Democratic Association of Women in Morocco.

According to Chraibi, between 600 and 800 clandestine abortions are recorded daily in Morocco. The majority are not performed under the required sanitary and medical conditions, deplores the activist and gynecologist, noting that an abortion performed in a hospital costs between 3,000 and 15,000 dirhams (between 280 and 1,400 euros), a very high amount for a good part of Moroccan women who resort to traditional abortion, at the risk of their lives. Clandestine abortion can lead to uterine tears, serious infections such as tetanus, hemorrhages, and even death, as was the case with Meriem.

The Moroccan Penal Code punishes any person who helps a woman to abort with a sentence of up to 5 years in prison and, in case of death, up to 10 and 20 years. The woman who undergoes an abortion herself risks a sentence of six months to two years in prison. "Many doctors and nurses are in prison for having performed illegal abortions. This persecution pushes women to resort to traditional abortion," laments Chraibi for whom "the only solution is the decriminalization of abortion".