Feminists in Turkey protest over abortion

Thousands of feminists and activists filed a petition to a number of Turkish government ministries on Tuesday to complain a bill that forbids abortions beyond the first six weeks of pregnancy.

Signed by 55,000 people and 900 organisations, the petition seeks to "prohibit abortion or introduce restrictions making it de facto impossible violates women's right to health and life."

To men, it says that the bill is "a new display of conservative policies that do not regard women as equal."

The legislation planned by the ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party would oblige all abortions to take place between the fourth and sixth weeks of pregnancy, down from the present 10.

About 50 activists rallied at the Istanbul post office where they submitted the petition, waving placards showing "AKP, Get Your Hands Off My Body" and "Abortion Is not a Crime, Banning It Is".

In 1965, Secular Turkey legalized abortion for medical basis, broadening the right in 1983 to all women in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. — ARA