The crime of abortion is Article 100 of the Turkish Penal Code. It is regulated in this article. If the legal period during which a person may voluntarily terminate a pregnancy exceeds 10 weeks, a pregnant woman who intentionally induces an abortion is punishable by imprisonment for up to one year or a fine. This is a specific offense, and the perpetrator is a pregnant woman. Since the mental element of the crime does not provide for a negligent form, it is a crime that can only be committed intentionally.
A person who provides a pregnant woman with a means to terminate the pregnancy, or who encourages or directs her to do so, may also be punished in accordance with the provisions of the relevant subsection.
On the other hand, prosecution of this offense is not dependent on a complaint. The competent court is the First Instance Criminal Court.
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In the offense of abortion, the legislature has made a distinction based on whether the pregnant woman consented to the act constituting the offense. The crime of abortion is also regulated under Article 99 of the Turkish Penal Code. According to the relevant provision of the law, the termination of a pregnancy without the pregnant woman’s consent, regardless of the gestational week, is subject to specific criminal penalties.
Accordingly, a person who causes a woman to miscarry without her consent is punished by imprisonment for five to ten years. However, if the woman’s physical or mental health has been harmed, the legislature considers this a reason to increase the penalty, and the person is sentenced to six to twelve years in prison. If the act results in the woman’s death, the legislature has established the penalty as fifteen to twenty years in prison. Due to the aggravated nature of the offense, the High Criminal Courts have jurisdiction.
For this offense to be committed, the woman must be pregnant and the fetus must be present in the uterus.
The medical conditions specified in Article 99, Paragraph 2 of the Turkish Penal Code are as follows:
Th e fact that the pregnancy poses a threat to the mother’s life or the life of one of her vital organs,
The fact that this situation will threaten the mother’s life or one of her vital organs in the later stages of pregnancy,
Because the pregnancy will result in serious disabilities for the unborn child and future generations.
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The grounds for compliance with the law are established in relation to this specific situation. Pregnancy may be terminated by specialist physicians in a hospital setting, based on reports issued by medical institutions, regardless of the stage of pregnancy.
Another reason that eliminates culpability in the aforementioned offense is the termination of pregnancy when the pregnant woman is a victim of a crime. If the pregnant woman is a victim of any crime, she may, with her consent and the judge’s permission, have the pregnancy terminated starting from the 20th day of pregnancy. If the pregnancy is less than one week, it may be terminated. A woman who has been the victim of sexual assault or became pregnant during prostitution, if she is the victim of the crime of intentional abortion, may have the pregnancy terminated by specialist doctors with her consent and the judge’s permission.
A key aspect of this offense is who performs the termination. A pregnancy may only be terminated in a hospital by specialized physicians. Under Article 99/5 of the Turkish Penal Code: “Even if consent has been given, if the pregnancy of a woman whose gestational period has not exceeded ten weeks is terminated by an unauthorized person, a prison sentence of two to four years shall be imposed.
If the other acts defined in the preceding paragraphs are committed by an unauthorized person, the penalty prescribed in those paragraphs shall be increased by half.” The regulation’s provision on pregnancy termination also specifies that unauthorized persons shall be punished. In this case, the offense is committed even if the legal 10-week period has not yet expired. The perpetrator of this offense is the person or persons who are not authorized to terminate the pregnancy.