Does that mean abortion is freely available in the Middle East and North Africa?
No what I mean is that the approach to abortion is much more nuanced than in the U.S. Given the varying cultural and political realities in these countries, it’s difficult to generalize. All of the Middle East and North Africa countries allow abortion to save the woman’s life. But there are countries that only allow abortions when the pregnancy endangers the life of the woman; legal, safe abortion is not available in any other cases. Tunisia and Turkey are exceptions. Tunisia allows abortion on request in the first trimester and liberalized its abortion law in 1973, the same year that Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the United States. In recent years, some Muslim groups – influenced by global conservatism – have issued statements saying that abortion is haram (forbidden) in all circumstances. What do contemporary religious commentators say about terminating pregnancies? Muslim leaders can issue decrees or opinions called fatawas, and these often are very localized. In 2005, Iranian a
