Download Syrian Arab Republic

Syrian Arab Republic
ABORTION POLICY
Grounds on which abortion is permitted:
To save the life of the woman
To preserve physical health
To preserve mental health
Rape or incest
Foetal impairment
Economic or social reasons
Available on request
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
Additional requirements:
Authorization for an abortion must be issued by two physicians. Written consent is required from the
woman and her spouse or guardian.
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CONTEXT
Government view on fertility level:
Satisfactory
Government intervention concerning fertility level:
No intervention
Government policy on contraceptive use:
Direct support provided
Percentage of currently married women using
modern contraception (aged 15-49, 1993):
28*
Total fertility rate (1995-2000):
4.0
Age-specific fertility rate (per 1,000 women aged 15-19, 1995-2000):
44
Government has expressed particular concern about:
Morbidity and mortality resulting from induced abortion
Complications of childbearing and childbirth
..
..
Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births):
National
Western Asia
180
320
Female life expectancy at birth (1995-2000):
71.2
*
Preliminary or provisional.
Source: Population Policy Data Bank, maintained by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the
United Nations Secretariat. For additional sources, see reference section.
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Syrian Arab Republic
BACKGROUND
Induced abortion is generally illegal in the Syrian Arab Republic. Under the Penal Code of 22 June 1949,
there are no stated exceptions to a general prohibition of abortion. A person who performs an abortion on a
woman with her consent is subject to one to three years’ imprisonment. If she does not consent, the penalty is
increased to at least five years’ forced labour. A woman who performs her own abortion or consents to its
performance is subject to six months’ to three years’ imprisonment. Harsher penalties are applied if the
abortion results in the death of the woman or if the person performing the abortion is a health professional.
Penalties are reduced if the abortion is performed by the woman to save her honour or another person performs
the abortion to save the honour of a descendant or a relative to the second degree.
Nonetheless, under general criminal law principles of necessity, an abortion can be legally performed to
save the life of the pregnant woman. Moreover, the law on the exercise of health professions specifically allows
an abortion to be performed by a physician or midwife when continuation of the pregnancy poses a danger to
the life of the woman. In this case, the performance of the abortion must be approved by another physician.
Before the operation, a record must be drawn up certifying the necessity of the abortion; and the record must be
signed by the two physicians and the patient or her spouse or guardian.
Data on the incidence of induced abortion in the Syrian Arab Republic are scarce. However, one study of
family formation and pregnancy outcome conducted in 1981 found that out of 31,567 pregnancies reported by
5,621 women, 9.6 per cent terminated in abortion.
The Government’s involvement in family planning began in 1974, when it announced plans to integrate
family planning into its health-care programme by establishing the Family Planning Unit as a component of its
maternal and child health programme. The Family Planning Unit works in collaboration with the Syrian Family
Planning Association, which began providing family planning services in the Syrian Arab Republic in 1974.
The Government supports family planning activities through a network of MCH centres. It sets no major limits
on contraceptives and directly supports their use. National statistics report 94,513 new acceptors and 460,258
clinic visits to the family planning programme in 1988, numbers that have risen steadily over the years. In
1988, 71 per cent of new acceptors chose oral contraceptives, 17 per cent used an intrauterine device and 11
per cent chose other methods. Efforts are under way to provide a wider mix of contraceptives and to reduce the
dependence upon oral contraceptives. The modern contraceptive prevalence rate rose to 28 per cent by 1993.
To improve the success of the family planning programme, local leaders have been consulted, and greater use
has been made of traditional birth attendants. Cooperation has been encouraged among a wide variety of
organizations, such as women and youth groups, and literacy and agricultural extension programmes have been
used to disseminate information.
Source: Population Policy Data Bank, maintained by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the
United Nations Secretariat. For additional sources, see reference section.
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