Morocco mulls conditional legalisation of abortions

The north African nation of Morocco, with a predominant Muslim population, is set to legalise abortion on certain conditions, a media report said on Monday.

Morocco's King Mohammed VI met with the country's Justice and Liberties Minister Mustapha Ramid, Endowments, Islamic Affairs Minister Ahmed Toufiq and president of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) Driss El Yazami, MAP news agency reported citing a statement issued by the royal household.

During the meeting on Friday, the two ministers and the CNDH president presented to the king the results of the extensive consultations they were tasked with regarding the issue of abortion.

The ministers and the CNDH head said these consultations showed that the majority of the people in Morocco favoured criminalising illegal abortion except for some force majeure cases due to serious health, psychological and social repercussions on women, the family, the foetus and the society in whole.

Such cases include when pregnancy endangers the life and health of the mother, when pregnancy is caused by rape or incest, and in case of serious malformations of the foetus or its contraction of incurable illnesses.

Against this background, King Mohammed VI directed minister of justice and liberties and to the minister of health to coordinate and involve specialised doctors to draft an elaborate legal arrangement encompassing the findings of these consultations.