Abortion of Male Violence Victim Completed

* My body, my decision [in Turkish]

The abortion of A.K., a male violence victim who has been assaulted with a shotgun by her lover, has been completed in the western province of Izmir as of this afternoon. 

“All necessary interventions have been made to A.K. and everything is stable right now,” Health and Social Services Workers Union (SES) Izmir Branch Chair Rukiye Çakır told bianet. 

She also added that A.K.’s treatment on her arm was ongoing. 

What happened?

A.K. (24) broke up with her co-living partner and moved back to her family’s apartment. After that she decided on abortion, she started receiving death threats. The lover stormed the apartment of A.K.’s parents on March 9 with a shotgun, leaving A.K.’s mother dead. A.K., on the other hand, was injured by gunfire.

While the lover has been arrested, A.K. has been hospitalized. A.K. requested an abortion, however her request was denied due to her ongoing divorce case with another partner as the law required that the partner’s consent was necessary.

“Neither the mother nor the baby has any situation to require an abortion,” a hospital consultation said.  

Upon that, women rights activists headed to the hospital. SES also requested another meeting for a new consultation. The hospital council assembled again yesterday and decided on the abortion for today, saying that “more effective drug will be needed to treat the mother and this could affect the child’s development negatively”. 

“Just like the woman gets to decide on pregnancy, they must have a say to end it as well,” Çakır said. 

“Consent from a partner or husband on the abortion must be out of question. In order to do this, we are requesting these measures must be reformed in a way to consider the woman’s body, freedom and willingness.” (ÇT/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.