The US Supreme Court's decision to repeal the right to abortion
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| US Supreme Court decision shocks advocates of abortion legalization in Morocco |
shocked human rights groups defending women's right to end voluntary unwanted pregnancies in Morocco; Some Moroccan bodies went to “denounce” the decision of the US Supreme Court.
Although the decision belongs to the American community, abortion advocates in Morocco believe it will have a negative impact on their efforts, “given the weight of the USA’s standing at the global level,” according to Chafik Chraibi, president of the Moroccan Association Against Secret Abortion.
Chraibi said, in a statement to Hespress, that "the US Supreme Court's decision will have an impact, because (he means the parties against the legalization of abortion in Morocco) they will say that the United States of America itself has prevented this right."
Despite the disappointment of advocates of empowering women with the “right to abortion” in Morocco with the US Supreme Court’s decision, they aspire to a decision in their favor by the current government, after the strong opposition they faced from the two previous governments led by the Justice and Development Party (with Islamic reference).
Shafik Chraibi expressed his optimism about the Akhannouch government taking a step in this direction. Speaking to Hespress, he revealed that the Minister of Justice, Abdel Latif Wehbe is enthusiastic about expanding the cases in which abortion
is permitted, saying: “I met with the Minister of Justice and he promised me that he would work to make abortion legal more than the cases stipulated in the abortion legalization bill.”
The head of the Moroccan Association for Combating Secret Abortion expressed his optimism about the current government's response to the demands of advocates of empowering women to stop unwanted pregnancies voluntarily, saying: "I have great hopes for that," noting that he is also in contact with the head of the Legislation and Human Rights Committee in the House of Representatives. And a number of committee members “who also defend this right,” as he put it.
The US Supreme Court's decision came at a time when Moroccan human rights organizations defending the decriminalization of abortion in all cases aspired to achieve this requirement, but its abolition in the United States confused their calculations.
The Federation of Women's Rights League condemned the decision of the US Supreme Court, and considered it "a clear threat to the human rights of women, a serious regression from the human rights gains achieved by the women's movement throughout a history of struggle", and a "human rights setback."
The same human rights body called on the US Supreme Court to “reverse the decision to abolish women’s right to abortion and protect the human rights of women, because of its dangerous consequences for the health and lives of women.”
An extensive discussion was opened on the legalization of abortion in Morocco in 2016, led by a royal committee consisting of three official bodies represented in the National Council for Human Rights, the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and ended with the drafting of a bill that has not yet seen the light.
The state tried to hold the baton from the middle on the issue of abortion, by permitting it in only three cases: if the pregnancy poses a danger to the mother’s life, or if there are serious congenital abnormalities and diseases that are difficult for the health of the fetus after its birth, or in a pregnancy resulting from rape or adultery Incest.
Restricting the legalization of abortion in three cases did not satisfy the human rights associations who demand decriminalization and legalization of it in all cases. The government’s withdrawal of the draft criminal law has revived its hopes of raising the abortion ceiling more than what was included in the draft law prepared by the previous government.
The Federation of Women’s Rights League called on the Moroccan government to “decriminalize all cases of medical abortion, which women practice of their free will, in a way that guarantees their dignity and right to their decision and choice, and their readiness for pregnancy and motherhood or not, and in keeping with Morocco’s international obligations and embodying the constitutionally established principles.”