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Jordan
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
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Additional requirements:
An abortion procedure on any of the approved grounds must be certified by two licensed physicians.
Written consent to the abortion is required either from the woman or from someone with legal authority to act
on her behalf. A legal abortion must be performed in a licensed facility.
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CONTEXT
Government view on fertility level:
Too high
Government intervention concerning fertility level:
Government policy on contraceptive use:
To lower
Direct support provided
Percentage of currently married women using
modern contraception (aged 15-49, 1997:
38
Total fertility rate (1995-2000):
4.9
Age-specific fertility rate (per 1,000 women aged 15-19, 1995-2000):
43
Government has expressed particular concern about:
Morbidity and mortality resulting from induced abortion
Complications of childbearing and childbirth
Yes
Yes
Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births, 1990):
National
Western Asia
150
320
Female life expectancy at birth (1995-2000):
71.5
Source: The Population Policy Data Bank maintained by the Population Division of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs of
the United Nations Secretariat. For additional sources, see list of references.
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Jordan
BACKGROUND
Abortion is prohibited in Jordan under the Penal Code, Law No. 16 for the year 1960. Any person
performing an abortion is subject to one to three years’ imprisonment. If that person is a medical worker, the
sentence is increased by one third. A woman inducing her own miscarriage or allowing it to be induced is
liable to six months’ to three years’ imprisonment. Penalties are increased if the abortion was carried out
without the woman’s consent or resulted in her death. Penalties are decreased if the abortion is performed by
the woman or a descendant or relative to the third degree for the purpose of saving her honour.
Nonetheless, under Public Health Law No. 20 of 1971 (section 62[a]), an abortion may be performed
when it is necessary to avert a danger to the life or health of the pregnant woman. The abortion must be
approved by two physicians, and the written consent of the pregnant woman must be obtained, unless she
cannot write or speak. In this case, her spouse or the person legally responsible for her must give written
consent. Neither the Penal Code nor the Public Health Law sets time limits for the performance of abortions.
Although the laws in Jordan with regard to induced abortion are relatively restrictive, they are broadly
interpreted with considerable discretion. It has been observed that the effect of induced abortion on fertility is
significant, compared with the effect in a number of other countries in the region. Most unsafe abortions are
performed by midwives. Consequently, training courses have been introduced to remove some of the dangers
associated with traditional birth practices. International assistance is being provided to improve and expand
maternal and child health programmes and to broaden the range of modern contraceptives that are available in
the country. Contraceptive products related to the social marketing campaign are now available at a
reasonable price at virtually all of Jordan’s pharmacies. The modern contraceptive prevalence rate has
increased from 27 percent in 1990 to 38 per cent in 1997. The National Population Commission (NPC)
sought to revise upwards its original 2000 target of 41.5 percent.
Jordan implemented its first National Population Strategy in 1996, and it is currently being revised to
include reproductive health and gender issues. The National Population Commission, which was established
in 1973, is now under the chairmanship of Princess Basma bint Talal, a step that indicates a new impetus
towards explicit support to birth spacing nationwide.
Reliable statistics on abortion are not readily available. However, one estimate puts the induced abortion
rate at one per 1,000 deliveries. The major reasons for having an abortion are believed to include illness of
the mother; family size (too many children); unwanted new children; complicated childbirth; and pregnancy
out of wedlock.
Source: The Population Policy Data Bank maintained by the Population Division of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs of
the United Nations Secretariat. For additional sources, see list of references.
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