By Nour Haider
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Abortion evokes deep and complex discussions worldwide, and Damascus, the Syrian capital, is no exception. Rahaf al-Khalidi’s fondness for children is overshadowed by the challenges she faces in ensuring them a decent life.
Despite her love for children, al-Khalidi, a resident of Damascus countryside, has made the difficult decision not to have more children.
Her decision is primarily influenced by her financial circumstances. She is acutely aware that she is unable to provide her current children with a decent life, let alone afford the additional expenses associated with raising another child.
Beyond the basic necessities of food, shelter, and education, the financial burden encompasses healthcare, clothing, and other essentials.
Abortion sparks strong reactions in many societies, often driven by religious or social reasons. In some countries, including Syria, abortion is prohibited and recognized as “cold-blooded murder” overlooking the circumstances that influence a woman’s decision.
Restrictive abortion laws in Syria
The Syrian Constitution prohibits abortion. Under the Penal Code, abortion is generally illegal, including in cases of rape.
The penal law does include a limited exception. In cases where the mother’s life or health is endangered, doctors may perform abortions.
However, this exception does not extend to pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, leaving survivors without the option to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.
Sherin, a lawyer based in Damascus, believes that the current laws severely restrict a woman’s right to have a safe abortion in many situations. She sees this as a serious violation of her own desire to have children.
In Syria, abortion is illegal, and those involved in the process, including the pregnant woman and the doctor performing the abortion, can face criminal charges. The punishment for the woman ranges from six months to three years of imprisonment. For the performer, the sentence ranges from one to three years of imprisonment. In cases where the mother dies during the procedure, the doctor can be sentenced to five to seven years in prison.
Financial Constraints
Financial constraints further compound the issue. High costs associated with raising a child, particularly in challenging living conditions, drive women to consider abortion. Limited access to affordable healthcare and inadequate compensation for doctors exacerbate the situation.
Gynecologist Alaa Mahmoud from Damascus emphasizes that, on a daily basis, one out of every three women who visit her practice want to terminate a pregnancy. These women mostly inquire about financial costs of the procedure, medications, and required tests during pregnancy.
The doctor highlighted a notable disparity in the costs of cesarean section deliveries, which can range from one to six million Syrian pounds (SYP). In contrast, the expenses for natural childbirth vary from 600,000 to two million SYP.
She also mentioned that some doctors refuse to perform natural childbirth due to inadequate compensation that fails to cover their expenses.
Due to the fear of imprisonment, most doctors refrain from performing abortions, which leaves women with no option but to turn to underground doctors who charge exorbitant prices or resort to unsafe local methods of abortion.
Unsafe methods
Making abortion illegal does not prevent its occurrence; instead, it forces women to seek secretive and unsafe methods.
Accurate data on abortion in Syria is limited. However, a study conducted on 1,300 women revealed that one-third of them attempted to end their pregnancies. The study included both married and unmarried women.
Another study in Rif Dimashq found that 41 percent of women in a single rural area experienced at least one abortion, and 25 percent underwent multiple procedures.
Around 92 percent of these women sought assistance from lay midwives, relatives, or non-medical practitioners, as reported in a 2022 study by a women’s rights organization.
Based on her doctor’s recommendation, Jamila Afifi, a 22-year-old resident of Damascus, underwent abortion in her seventh week of pregnancy.
Afifi followed the prescribed pills provided by her doctor, which she brought from Lebanon because they were difficult to obtain in Syria. Before starting the treatment, she took a sick leave from her job.
“I felt great pain. I started vomiting two hours after taking the pills, and the pregnancy ended,” Afifi told North Press.
A staff member at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in Damascus said that most of the women seeking such procedures “often come from impoverished backgrounds.”
“They undertake this step with complete secrecy, which can create considerable pressure on both the women and the doctors involved.”
The criminalization of abortion, along with the difficult economic situation in Syria, has resulted in some mothers abandoning their newborn babies. Field researchers from Syrians For Truth and Justice (STJ), an NGO working on documenting human rights violations in Syria, documented at least 100 cases in the country between early 2021 and December 2022.