Peregraf- Duhok
A number of organizations are working to reduce the obstacles that Iraqi and Kurdish women face in obtaining an abortion by challenging the strict laws banning the procedure except in narrow circumstances.
"Iraqi law allows a woman to have an abortion in only two cases. We want to increase access and find legal and healthy ways to provide it," Abdal Nuri, director of Nuzhin in Duhok, told Peregraf.
Her organization is working with eleven other groups from Duhok, Erbil, Sulaimani, Kirkuk, Hawramabad, and the Nineveh Plains to convince government officials to expand access.
"Our project is not against anyone. We just want to serve the society. We see that society in general has changed and that their demands have changed a lot compared to a few years ago," Nuri said.
Amal Abdulhakim, a gynecologist and obstetrician in Duhok, told Peregraf that "there are only two situations where an abortion is allowed to go forward: when the life of the mother is in danger or if the fetus displays life threatening birth defects."
In general, under Iraqi practice, an abortion should take place within 40 days of conception.
"Only in these two cases will the child be aborted," Abdulhakim said. "We have a religious duty and it is not allowed by law."
Nuri said that the new proposals would amend the law to cover a greater range of situations where abortion is allowed, including cases of rape and incest and lack of access to contraception.
According to Article 417 of the Iraqi Penal Code, any woman who has an abortion or authorizes someone to perform an abortion for them can be sentenced to a year in jail, a fine, or both if found guilty.
The same article states that abortion providers faces the same punishment, except if a woman dies during the procedure. In that case, providers face a prison sentence of seven years. Sanctions are harsher if the they are a licensed pharmacist or doctor.
Hamdi Barway, a lawyer and head of the Human Rights Organization in Duhok, told Peregraf that the Iraqi Penal Code states that if a woman becomes pregnant as a result of fornication, the punishment for procuring an abortion is slightly reduced in order to "cleanse her honor."
Additionally, Article 418 of the Penal Code says that people who procure an abortion for a woman without her consent will be sentenced to between ten and fifteen years in prison.
Under Islamic law, which provides one of the foundations for Iraqi law, abortion is prohibited.
"Recently, some Islamic scholars have given women a chance to have an abortion if they are in danger of dying during pregnancy. [However,] the traditions of Iraqi and Kurdish society do not give women the right to have an abortion without any reason," said Barway.
He cautioned that the push to expand abortion access would ultimately not be successful and would result in a strong backlash.
The debate over abortion is hardly unique for Iraq. Rather, it is a hotly debated topic across the world. In some countries, there is relatively free access, while it is heavily restricted in others.
However, there are a number of ways to skirt the legal route for securing an abortion in Iraq, by secretly obtaining abortion pills or by other means.
Salih Zahir, an activist and university professor, opposes the push to expand abortion access, arguing that it is part of "a conspiracy to destroy Kurdish society."
"There are several legitimate rules on abortion and scientists have clearly explained the subject…The decision should be in the hands of experts," Zahir said.
"Raising these issues has no benefit for society except to destroy the order of society...This issue will be reviewed in the United States and Europe and restrictions on it will increase," he predicted.
Between 14,000 and 39,000 pregnant women die each year worldwide because they lack access to safe abortion procedures, according to the World Health Organization. Millions of other women are hospitalized as a result of pregnancy-related illnesses.
According to the UN statistics, six out of every ten unintended pregnancies end in abortion.
"We want to resolve these issues, so we intend to submit the project to the Kurdistan Parliament and the relevant parties," Nuri said.