https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde29/7506/2024/en/
The number of clandestine abortions in Morocco has dropped by 50%, decreasing from over 200,000 per year to around 100,000, since the crackdown on doctors accused of performing illegal abortions began in 2018. The new numbers were recently cited by Professor Chafik Chraibi, longstanding president of the Moroccan association for the fight against illegal abortion, in an interview with Medias24.
The article calls for increased concern about the safety and health of women forced to seek illegal abortions. It is a pity that it does not look at hospital data on numbers of women being treated for complications of unsafe abortions to check what is and is not actually happening.
Professor Chraibi says that many Moroccan women have turned more to using various forms of contraception, including the morning-after-pill, which is available over the counter in pharmacies. Some women may also acquire un-authorized abortion pills from the black market. The report does not attempt to examine or discuss this option further, which is perhaps just as well given what follows.
The article goes on to say that the cost of abortion procedures has doubled, from MAD 3,000 ($300) to MAD 6,000 ($600), in the few clinics that still carry out these surgeries. This sheds light on how strict abortion bans not only affect women’s health but also exasperate economic disparities, disproportionately impacting low-income women who cannot afford to seek medical help from private clinics or go abroad, which are options that are open to the more privileged.
In addition to the social stigma and cultural repercussions in the case of pregnancies that occur out of wedlock, impoverished women are more likely to experience unplanned pregnancies due to lack of family planning services and suffer greater economic consequences as a result.
Moroccan women convicted of having an illegal abortion risk a prison sentence of six months to two years. Sexual relations outside of marriage is also illegal in Morocco, so those who are unmarried and having an abortion may incur an added sentence.
The discussion surrounding abortion rights in Morocco has been going on for decades, with experts and human rights advocates calling without apparent success for a more comprehensive approach, including better access to reproductive healthcare and family planning services, to ensure the well-being of women in Morocco.
In April 2024, Morocco World News reported that three people were arrested during an illegal abortion in the home of one of them, a nurse, near Rabat. The police seized medical equipment, drugs, injections, and money as well as a cheque with the name of the person receiving the abortion procedure.
In May 2024, not for the first time, Amnesty International called for the decriminalisation of both abortion and sex outside marriage, which led inevitably to claims that these were against the most conservative views of Islam. Calls to liberalise the laws surrounding abortion grew after the death of a 14-year old girl, who lost her life to unsafe abortion in September 2022. Since that tragic incident, Moroccan rights associations and feminist activists have constantly urged the country’s authorities to reform the laws surrounding abortion and many other family-related matters. Many NGOs hoped to see such changes coming as part of promised reforms to the family code and penal code.
The king was urged to support the changes since, at his request for a comprehensive revision of existing legislation, Morocco is currently undergoing a major overhaul of its family code. But on abortion-related issues, he let the side down, and said only changes that are recognised by (conservative) Islam would be acceptable.
In other news, the President of the Moroccan Human Rights Council (CNDH), Amina Bouayach, was elected President of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) by unanimous vote, reported on 11 March 2025. For decades, Bouayach has been a tireless advocate for women’s and children’s rights, often speaking out against the injustices they face. She has also worked to improve the rights of marginalized groups around the world. In recognition of her dedication and leadership, King Mohammed VI appointed her as president of the Moroccan Human Rights Council in 2018.
SOURCES: Morocco World News, by Safaa Kasraoui, 14 April 2024 ; Morocco World News, by Safaa Kasraoui, 14 May 2024 ; Morocco World News, by Sara Zouiten, 11 March 2025 ; Morocco World News, by Hajare Elkhaldi, 24 March 2025.