Abortion in Kyrgyzstan

Abortion in Kyrgyzstan is legal up to 12 weeks in normal cases. This can be extended to 22 weeks for "social reasons" as agreed upon by a health professional. In cases of medical necessity, abortion is legal at any time.[1] However, a majority of Kyrgyzstan's population is opposed to abortion due to it being considered Haram under Islamic law.[2][3]

## History

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### Kirghiz SSR

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As a member state of the Soviet Union, Stalin's law criminalizing abortion was repealed in 1955 and was replaced with a new law that was designed "to encourage motherhood and protect infancy."[4] The decree implied that a majority of women would still seek to have children, and the Soviet government still sought to prevent abortion as much as possible.[5]

There is no exact data on how the re-legalization of abortion in the Soviet Union directly affected the Kirghiz SSR, it is fair to assume that it was similar to the rest of the central Asian republics: most of them denouncing abortion due to it being incomparable with Islamic belief.[6] The Kirghiz SSR was predominantly Muslim,[7] which considers abortion as Haram.[3][8]

### Independent Kyrgyzstan

[edit]

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the rate of abortion in Kyrgyzstan has declined 66%, decreasing from 90 abortions per 1,000 women in 1990 to just 31 as of 2021.[9] The country is a member of the Organization of Islamic Conferences, and is one of the few members to allow unrestricted abortion.[10] 2015 research by the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic put the figure of abortions per 1,000 births at 140.6.[11]

While abortion is legal in Kyrgyzstan, due to the prevalence of Muslims in the country, many doctors have expressed concern about performing such operations. One female doctor in Osh told a researcher with the University of Minnesota said that she no longer counsels women about abortion options, nor does she perform them as "she now feels afraid to do so."[12] Most women face social pressure to not get an abortion, due to the rising influence of Islam in the country.[13][14]

## Laws

[edit]

Abortion is not mentioned in Kyrgyzstan's constitution, although it does state that women and men will have "equal rights and freedoms and equal opportunities for their realization."[15]

The official law on abortion, called the Law on Reproductive Rights of Citizens, legalizes abortion on a number of cases. It states in part that technology must be developed to help protect reproductive rights, and that abortion should be provided in the event that a woman wishes to terminate her pregnancy.[16]

According to the United Nations, abortion is legal in Kyrgyzstan in cases of saving a women's life, saving her physical health, and saving her mental health. The same report states that the rate of abortion in Kyrgyzstan per 1,000 women is 12.4 as of 2011. A majority of the population, however, views abortion as immoral.[2] Kyrgyzstan is a Muslim-majority country, and thus the social ideas of the population are shaped by the religion.[17]

## References

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1. ^ Hurley, Laura (2024-08-15). "Improving abortion services in Kyrgyzstan". Safe Abortion Action Fund. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
2. ^ a b Mishra, Vinrod; Gaigbe-Togbe, Victor; Ferre, Julia (2014). "Abortion Policies and Reproductive Health around the World" (PDF). Economic and Social Affairs: 23, 33. ISBN 978-92-1-151521-3. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
3. ^ a b "BBC - Religions - Islam: Abortion". www.bbc.co.uk. September 7, 2009. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
4. ^ Указ Президиума ВС СССР от 23.11.1955 об отмене запрещения абортов [Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council of 11.23.1955 on the abolition of the prohibition of abortion] (in Russian). 23 November 1955 – via Wikisource.
5. ^ Randall, Amy E. (2011). ""Abortion will deprive you of happiness!": Soviet reproductive politics in the post-Stalin era". Journal of Women's History. 23 (3): 13–38\. doi:10.1353/jowh.2011.0027. ISSN 1042-7961. PMID 22145180.
6. ^ Erdal, Şule (February 2011). "The Emancipation of Women in Stalinist Central Asia" (PDF). Middle East Technical University: 93.
7. ^ Hannah, Abdul. "Chapter 1." Early History of Spread of Islam in (former) Soviet Union. 16 Sep 2002. Witness Pioneer. 14 Feb 2007 [1]
8. ^ Australian National Imams Council (16 August 2019). "The Islamic Position on Abortion" (PDF). Australian National Imams Council.
9. ^ "Country Profile - Kyrgyzstan". www.guttmacher.org. 2021-04-08. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
10. ^ Hedayat, K. M.; Shooshtarizadeh, P.; Raza, M. (2006-11-01). "Therapeutic abortion in Islam: contemporary views of Muslim Shiite scholars and effect of recent Iranian legislation". Journal of Medical Ethics. 32 (11): 652–657. doi:10.1136/jme.2005.015289. ISSN 0306-6800. PMC 2563289\. PMID 17074823.
11. ^ "Медикаментозный аборт в I и во II триместрах беременности" [Medical Abortion in the First and Second Trimesters of Pregnancy] (PDF). Ministry for Health in the Kyrgyz Republic (in Russian). January 18, 2017.
12. ^ Kuehnast, Kathleen. "Canaries in a Coal Mine?: Women and Nation-Building in the Kyrgyz Republic". University of Minnesota.
13. ^ Ford, Liz (2015-03-26). "Kyrgyzstan's cocktail of conservatism and apathy a bitter draught for women". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
14. ^ "Kyrgyzstan" (PDF). Welcome to the United Nations.
15. ^ "Kyrgyzstan 2010 Constitution - Constitute". www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
16. ^ "О репродуктивных правах граждан и гарантиях их реализации" [Law on Reproductive Rights of Citizens] (PDF). World Health Organization (in Russian). July 4, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
17. ^ Hanks, Reuel R. (Winter 2005). "Muslims at the Crossroads: An Introductory Survey of Historical and Contemporary Aspects of Islam in Central Asia". Association for Asian Studies. Retrieved 2024-11-05.

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