The United Arab Emiratesgovernment will legalize abortions for "vaild reasons." What constitutes a valid reason is somewhat uncleaer.
“Abortion will be allowed in the country but under tough conditions,� said Dr Ali bin Shukar, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Health (MoH). “Applicants must have valid reasons.�He said his ministry has broadly reached a consensus with the Ministry of Justice and General Awqaf Authority to sanction abortion.
“We have reached an agreement in this regard with the Ministry of Justice and Awqaf Authority that observes all the values and Islamic legislations as well as clinical conditions,� said Dr Shukar.
“Invalid excuses for abortion like wanting to get rid of the baby because they think they have had enough children or not wanting to keep the baby because they feel tired will not be considered genuine and sufficient reasons to go for abortion,� said the official. The abortion rule will be stipulated in the federal law on medical liability which is being contemplated by the two ministries before being forwarded to the cabinet for endorsement.
So yeah...unclear.
Thanks to Neha for the link, and for having maybe the best blog name ever.
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I suppose it's not a GIANT surprise that male leaders in the Arab world are completely out of touch with why women do anything, but I really have to ask... does *anyone* go to a clinic saying, "I want an abortion, I'm tired of this damn fetus?"
"not wanting to keep the baby because they feel tired will not be considered genuine and sufficient reasons to go for abortion"
Oh, yeah, that happens. Well, I'm five months pregnant, but I only got four hours of sleep last night because I was studying for a chemistry exam, and then I worked all day today after class . . . I'm *sooo* tired . . . I guess I'll have an abortion now.
Not that I agree with the statement but I know that a lot of the nuances of statment can get lost in translation.
My guess is that in the statement, the gov't offical means tired in the sense of "I am tired of having kids" or "I am too tired from the kids I have to take care of more".
Either way I think if a future parent says they don't think they can parent properly, then we should freaking listen to them!
I was speaking to some young men from Oman recently who were trying to convince me that women had the same rights in their country as here in Australia. They bragged that they have divorce in their country. "That's good" I said, "If I was married to an Arab man I would definitely like to be able to get a divorce. So are women in your country allowed to initiate the divorce?" "Oh, no, the woman can't". So I asked, "well, what if her husband was beating her?" They said in that case she can go before an all-male tribunal, and if she has enough scars & bruises to show as evidence, she MIGHT be granted a divorce!!! As a woman who has come out of an abusive relationship in a western country, with all the resources available to me here, it was still so hard to get away, I can only imagine what life is like for our Arab sisters. They are truly brave. Their suffragence is coming.