TURKEY.
Law
No. 2827 of
1. The
purpose of this Law shall be to regulate the principles of population
planning,
pregnancy termination and sterilization procedures, cases where
emergency
interventions are permitted, and the acquisition, production, and
procedures
for approval of contraceptive drugs and devices.
* * *
Termination of Pregnancy
5. Provided
there are no medical contraindications, the uterus may be evacuated
until
the end of the 10th week of pregnancy.
If the gestation period is
longer
than 10 weeks, the uterus may be evacuated only if the pregnancy
represents,
or will constitute, a danger to the mother’s life, or if the child to
be
born or its offspring will be damaged, this being confirmed in writing,
on
the basis of objective findings, by a specialist in obstetrics and
gynaecology
and a specialist in a related field.
In a situation whre
failure
to intervene immediately will result in danger either to life or to one
of
the vital organs, a physician making an assessment to this effect shall
evacuate
the uterus. However, in such cases, the
physician
who has terminated the pregnancy must inform the Directorate of Health
and
Welfare in provincial centres, and Government physicians in local
towns,
of the name and address of the woman, the intervention procedure, and
the
justification for the intervention; such information must be provided
either
prior to the intervention, or, if this is not possible, within 24 hours
following
the intervention.
Regulations to be prepared
shall
indicate the conditions that constitute emergency situations; the
format
and content of the notification form; the format for the consent forms
to
be used by persons requesting evacuation of the uterus or
sterilization,
and instructions on how to fill in these forms; the places where such
operations
ca be performed; the conditions to be fulfilled by such places as
regards
health and other aspects; and matters regarding the inspection and
supervision
of such places.
Permission for Pregnancy
Termination
6. The
intervention referred to in Section 5 shall be contingent upon the
permission
of the pregnant woman; in the case of minors, it shall be contingent on
permission
by a parent; in the case of persons under legal guardianship, either
because
they are minors or because they are mentally incompetent, it shall be
contingent
on the consent of the minor and the legal guardian, as well as the
permission
of a justice of the peace. Permission to
evacuate
the uterus shall, however, not be required in the case of a pregnant
woman
unable to make a conscious decision on account of mental incompetence. Where a person whose consent is required under
the provisions
of the second paragraph of Section 4 or the first paragraph of Section
5
is married, the consent of the spouse shall be required in order to
evacuate
the uterus or for sterilization.
The requirement of
obtaining
permission from a parent or from a justice of the peace may be waived
if
there could be danger to life or to a vital organ unless urgent action
is
taken.
Regulations
concerning
the administration and control of womb evacuation and sterilization,
1st
Section
GOALS
AND
TERMS
GOAL
Art. 1. The aim of
these regulations
is to set forth: in what circumstances
urgent action
in evacuating the womb is indicated, the form and nature of the
intervention
to be performed, the form of the permission application which will be
required
of those having a womb evacuation and sterilization, the mode of
filling
it out, the places in which the womb evacuation and sterilization can
be
performed, the sanitary conditions that those places must meet and
other
conditions of the bases of observation and inspection of such places.
TERMS
Art. 2. Used in these
regulations
a) The Ministry means The Ministry of
Health and Social
Assistance.
b) The term womb evacuation means the
ending of a pregnancy.
c) The term sterilization means, in
women, tying the tubes,
in men, vasectomy.
d) The term menstrual regulation (MR)
means using the vacuum
aspiration method.
2nd
Section
WOMB
EVACUATION
Womb
evacuation
in pregnancies not advanced beyond the 10th week:
Art. 3. A womb
evacuation can be performed
on request, up to the 10th week, on condition that there is no medical
objection
from the standpoint of the woman's health.
Womb
evacuations are performed by gynecologists and obstetricians. Womb evacuations and menstrual regulation
procedures may
be performed only by general practitioners who have studied in
institutions opened by the Ministry and who have a license to practice
and under the control and observation of gynecologists and
obstetricians by the menstrual regulation method.
The
necessary conditions for places in which womb evacuations may be
performed
on a pregnancy not more advanced than 10 weeks:
Art. 4. In a pregnancy
not advanced
beyond the 10th week, womb evacuation is to be done:
a) In places where the
specializations of gynecology and
obstetrics are practiced.
b) In official medical institutions,
by the menstrual regulation
procedure by practicing doctors.
In
cases
requiring anesthetic, this may be done in a official medical
institution or
in private hospitals where this is performed.
In
pregnancies
not advanced beyond the 10th week--in official medical installations,
private
hospitals or consultation rooms of gynecologists or obstetricians which
must
have the equipment and apparatus mentioned in list number 1 appended to
these
regulations.
In
pregnancies
advanced beyond the 10th week:
Art. 5. On women whose
pregnancy has
lasted more than 10 weeks womb evacuation may not be performed.
With
regard to women in this case, womb evacuation can be performed by a
gynecologist
or obstetrician only on women having one of the illnesses listed in
appendix
2 to these regulations. The presence of the illness must be stated in
the
required report which will be prepared by a gynecologist or
obstetrician together
with a doctor with expertise in these branches and must be based on
definite
clinical and laboratory findings.
The
doctor who performs the womb evacuation must send this report to the
district
health and social assistance offices and to the regional medical
directorates
at the latest one week after the end of the operation.
These
reports are collected at the district health and social assistance
offices.
The
places in which womb evacuation is performed after the 10th week of a
pregnancy and the conditions which must be met by such places are:
Art. 6. In a pregnancy
advanced beyond
the 10th week, a womb evacuation can be performed in official medical
institutions
with beds or in private hospitals.
In
these
places the equipment, apparatus and personnel mentioned in appendix 3
to these
regulations must be present.
Womb
evacuation
in urgent cases:
Art. 7. In urgent
cases where there
is no immediate intervention there is a threat to the life of the woman
or
one of the vital organs, a womb evacuation may be performed.
In
this
situation, a womb evacuation is performed by gynecological and
obstetric specialists.
Urgent
cases necessitating womb evacuation:
a) even if the cervical internal
aperture is closed if
there is vaginal bleeding to an extent to pose a threat to the woman's
life.
b) cases in which the cervical
aperture is open.
c) in cases where part of the fetus
in the uterus has descended,
where bleeding continues and there is a danger of infection.
Places in
which
womb evacuation will be performed in urgent cases and the obligation to
report:
Art. 9. In urgent
cases womb evacuation
is performed in official medical institutions with beds or private
hospitals. Only if it is not possible to
move the woman to one of
these may the operation be performed where the patient is, in such
places
as at home or in a consultation room.
The
doctor, if it is not possible before the intervention, then at the
latest, within 24 hours, must report in writing to the district health
and social assistance offices and to the regional government medical
offices the identity of the woman, the reasons which necessitated the
intervention, the intervention which was performed and its result.
These reports are collected at the district health and social
assistance directorates.
* * *
4th
Section
VARIOUS
REGULATIONS
Permission
form:
Art. 13. A pregnant
woman whose pregnancy
has not gone beyond the 10th week must submit a permission form, a
specimen
of which is appended to these regulation:
a) If she is of age, from herself.
b) If she is a minor then from
herself and a responsible
adult.
c) If she is ward and is neither of
age nor capable of
discernment then from herself and her guardian (in this case, in
addition
permission must also be obtained from a small claims judge).
d) If she is married, from her spouse.
The
performance of sterilization operations on married persons is
contingent
on receipt of a permission form also from the spouse.
Cases in
which
a permission form is not required:
Art. 14. In the case
of pregnant woman
who is not lucid by reason of mental illness, her own permission is not
necessary
for a womb evacuation.
In
urgent
cases if it is shown that obtaining permission from a guardian or small
claims
court would take time and that if there was no immediate intervention
there
would be danger to life or vital organs, the condition that permission
be received does not obtain.
Method of
getting
a permission form:
Art. 15. Permission
forms will be given
for signature to those persons mentioned in article 13 at the time they
apply
for womb evacuation or sterilization. In a
case in
which the spouse or guardian has not accompanied the applicant the
appropriate
written and signed document will indicate their having given consent to
sterilization or womb evacuation. The
person who brings this document
must sign an appropriate document to the effect that this person
accepts
legal responsibility for the identity of the signers.
Observation
and inspection:
Art. 16. Except for
those connected
with the Ministry of National Defense, the places in which womb
evacuations
and sterilization operations are performed, official or private
institutions,
consultation rooms of legally authorized persons and medical
institutions,
are to be under the observation and inspection of the Ministry which is
authorized
and charged with their direction.
Effective:
Art. 17. These
regulations which were
prepared on the basis of the 5th article of the Law on Family Planning,
No.
2827, dated 5/24/1983 and which were examined by the Council of State,
go
into effect on the day of its publication in the Official Gazette.
Enforcement:
Art. 18. The Council
of Ministers is
to enforce these regulations.
[List
#1: The equipment and apparatus which must
be present
in official medical institutions, private hospitals and consultation
rooms
of gynecological and obstetrical specialists in which womb evacuations
in
pregnancies not advanced beyond the 10th week are performed.
List
#2: Illnesses and conditions dangerous for the
child
or threatening the life or a vital organ of the woman, necessitating a
womb
evacuation in a pregnancy advanced beyond the 10th week.
List
#3: Equipment, apparatus and personnel which
must be
present in places where womb evacuations are performed after the 10th
week.
List
#4: The necessary conditions, equipment,
apparatus
and personnel which must be present in places in which female
sterilization
operations are performed:
List
#5: The equipment and apparatus which must be
present
in places in which male sterilization operations are performed:
WOMB
EVACUATION PERMISSION FORM
DECLARATION
OF THE DOCTOR ON DUTY BEFORE INTERVENTION
PERMISSION
FORM FOR STERILIZATION
DECLARATION
OF THE DOCTOR ON DUTY BEFORE INTERVENTION
DECISION OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTER].