Safe Abortion Day: Moroccan Activists Fight For Change

September 28, marks safe abortion day which is a topic of interest in Morocco following the recent death of a teenager who underwent an illegal abortion.

Olivia Hooper
Sep. 28, 2022

Rabat- On the occasion of International Safe Abortion Day on September 28, many in Morocco push for reform of its criminal code that criminalizes abortion. A protest to encourage change in the law is to be held today outside the parliament building in Rabat, at 5:00 pm.

The United Nations Women took to Twitter to spread awareness under the hashtag #SafeAbortionDay stating, “Over 1.2 billion women & girls live in countries with some restrictions on access to safe abortion. When safe & legal access to abortion is restricted, women are forced to resort to less safe methods, often with damaging results.”

Continued: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2022/09/351566/safe-abortion-day-moroccan-activists-fight-for-change

28.09.2022

International Safe Abortion Day

As Rwanda frees women arrested on abortion charges, questions come on abortion rights in Africa

Nii Ntreh
May 21, 2020

The president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, has pardoned some 50 women who were arrested and prosecuted for the offenses of either having an abortion or assisting in the process.

This follows another 52 who were released last year for the same crime. The country’s Justice Minister, Johnston Busingye, said the most recent release consists of the last batch of women prosecuted for the termination of pregnancies.

Continued: https://face2faceafrica.com/article/as-rwanda-frees-women-arrested-on-abortion-charges-questions-come-on-abortion-rights-in-africa

21.05.2020

jailing women for abortion

MOROCCO – National Council of Human Rights (CNDH) calls for abortion law reform following Hajar Raissouni case

MOROCCO – National Council of Human Rights (CNDH) calls for abortion law reform following Hajar Raissouni case

by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
Nov 12, 2019

In a memorandum to the Government and Parliament of Morocco, the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH) is clearly in favour of changing certain provisions of the Moroccan Penal Code, in general making abortion legal on wider grounds but also changing Articles 449 to 452, which call for imprisonment for illegal abortion. The memorandum insists that the law take into account the “psychological and social security” of the woman, as well as the safety of her health. For the CNDH, these reasons justify the right to abortion in the first three months of pregnancy. They add: “A woman suffering from mental disorders has the right to have an abortion without the authorisation of the husband though, of course, under the control of the family judge”.

They also oppose the criminalisation of non-marital sex and call for the decriminalisation of consensual sexual relations between adults and reject the criminalisation of homosexuality. In short, the Council chaired by Fatima Bouayach recommends the deletion of Articles 489 to 493.

12.11.2019

National Council of Human Rights

Morocco: Journalist’s pardon for ‘abortion’ reflects societal split

Morocco: Journalist's pardon for 'abortion' reflects societal split
Hajar Raissouni was jailed for an abortion she has always denied. Her pardon this week was a small victory for women's rights activists across the region who, despite recent gains, still face serious resistance.

Date 19.10.2019
Author Tom Allinson, Imane Mellouk

After Morocco's king pardoned her for the crimes of having an "illegal abortion" and premarital sex , journalist Hajar Raissouni on Wednesday made a victory sign with her fingers. The moment has come to symbolize a win for her and civil rights activists, who have campaigned for her release.

King Mohammed VI overturned her one-year sentence and conviction, which was handed down on September 30 in order to "preserve the future of the two fiancés who planned to found a family in line with our religious and legal precepts, despite the error they made," the justice ministry said.

continued: https://www.dw.com/en/morocco-journalists-pardon-for-abortion-reflects-societal-split/a-50887965

Moroccan Journalist Jailed For Abortion Freed After Royal Pardon

Moroccan Journalist Jailed For Abortion Freed After Royal Pardon

By Sophie Pons
10/16/19

Moroccan journalist Hajar Raissouni who was sentenced to one year in jail for an "illegal abortion" and sexual relations outside marriage walked free on Wednesday, shortly after being granted a royal pardon.

In a case that had provoked a storm of protests from rights groups, the justice ministry said the 28-year-old woman was released on a pardon issued by King Mohammed VI.

Continued: https://www.ibtimes.com/moroccan-journalist-jailed-abortion-freed-after-royal-pardon-2847379

16.10.2019

Amnesty International

arresting women for abortion

Moroccan king pardons journalist jailed for having an abortion

Moroccan king pardons journalist jailed for having an abortion

Issued on: 16/10/2019
Text by: NEWS WIRES
Video by: Nicolas RUSWORTH

Morocco’s king has pardoned Hajar Raissouni, a journalist sentenced to a year in prison last month for extramarital sex and an abortion, along with her fiance, a doctor and two of his colleagues, the justice ministry said on Wednesday.
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The case of Raissouni, who had denied the charges against her, outraged human rights activists who said she had been targeted for her work for a newspaper that has criticised the state, and because she is the niece of a prominent Islamist.

Continued: https://www.france24.com/en/20191016-moroccan-king-pardons-journalist-jailed-for-having-an-abortion

16.10.2019

Moroccan Association for Abortion Rights

Moroccan Journalist Jailed for an Abortion She Says She Never Had

Moroccan Journalist Jailed for an Abortion She Says She Never Had

By Amanda Arnold
Oct. 1, 2019

On Monday, a 28-year-old Moroccan journalist was sentenced to a year in prison for an abortion that she denies ever getting, in a case that critics have condemned as part of a concerted effort to suppress journalists’ critical coverage of the government, the Guardian reports.

Over the past month, the prosecution of Hajar Raissouni — as well as of her fiancé, Rifaat al-Amin — has sparked nationwide outrage. On August 31, Raissouni and al-Amin were arrested after leaving a gynecologist’s office in the capital of Morocco, where abortion is illegal in nearly all cases. Raissouni claims she wasn’t there to terminate a pregnancy; instead, she says she was visiting the doctor to get a blood clot removed. During the trial, a lawyer for her doctor provided medical evidence regarding Raissouni’s hormone levels that further demonstrated she had not undergone an abortion.

Continued: https://www.thecut.com/2019/10/moroccan-journalist-jailed-abortion-she-denies-having.html

01.10.2019

jailing women for abortion

Moroccan journalist gets year in jail over alleged abortion

Moroccan journalist gets year in jail over alleged abortion
Hajar Raissouni denied having an abortion and denounced the trial as being politically motivated.

30 Sept 2019

A court in Morocco has sentenced journalist Hajar Raissouni to a year in jail for having had an "illegal" abortion and sexual relations outside of marriage.

The 28-year-old's Sudanese fiance and gynaecologist on Monday were also handed one and two-year jail sentences, respectively, while an anaesthetist and medical assistance were given suspended sentences of a year and eight months, also respectively.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/moroccan-journalist-year-jail-alleged-abortion-190930183757463.html

Moroccan Journalist Sentenced to Prison for Abortion and Premarital Sex

Moroccan Journalist Sentenced to Prison for Abortion and Premarital Sex

By Aida Alami
Sept. 30, 2019

RABAT, Morocco — A Moroccan judge on Monday found a journalist and her fiancé guilty of having premarital sex and obtaining an abortion, and imposed prison sentences on them and a doctor convicted of performing the abortion, in a case that critics have denounced as a thinly veiled bid to suppress critical coverage of the government.

The journalist, Hajar Raissouni, 28, who works for the independent daily newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum, and her fiancé, Rifaat al-Amin, were arrested on Aug. 31 as they were leaving a gynecologist’s office in the Moroccan capital, Rabat.

continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/world/africa/morocco-abortion-sex-hajar-raissouni.html

Moroccan court jails journalist on abortion charge that she denies

Moroccan court jails journalist on abortion charge that she denies

Ahmed Eljechtimi
September 30, 2019

RABAT (Reuters) - A Moroccan court on Monday sentenced a journalist to a year in prison for sex outside marriage and having an abortion, both of which she denied, in a case that has outraged rights activists, who say the charges are politically motivated.

Police arrested Hajar Raissouni, 28, on Aug. 31 along with her fiancé as they were leaving a gynecologists clinic in Rabat.

Continued: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-morocco-trial/moroccan-court-jails-journalist-on-abortion-charge-that-she-denies-idUSKBN1WF22T