Istanbul, Turkey. - A number of women in Istanbul,Turkey took to the streets to protest rumored changes in the nation's anti-abortion laws. According to reports, it is said that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his administration are pushing to ban abortions.
The current abortion law in Turkey states that a woman is allowed to have an abortion up until 10 weeks of the gestation period. The law applies to both single and married women over the age of 18, but in the case of the latter the woman must receive permission from the husband.
Now these laws have come under threat as the ruling Islamist party AKP is proposing to de-legalize abortions and allow termination only up until the fourth week, except in cases of emergency, as reported by the Guardian.
Prime Minister Erdogan publicly announced that he equated abortion with murder, telling the Guardian that "There is no difference between killing a baby in its mother's stomach and killing a baby after birth." He is also attributing the issue of abortion to economic growth, claiming that the number of abortions is negatively impacting the nation's economy, as reported by Deutsche Welle.
However, the women of Turkey feel differently. During the rally they told the government they claimed sovereignty over their bodies through chanting, picket signs and just showing up in support of pro-woman's choice to termination.
