Abortion in Palestine

According to Article 8 of Palestinian Public Health Law No. 20 (passed in 2004), abortion is legal only to save the life of the pregnant woman.^[1] Anecdotal reports suggest that prosecutions are rare.^[2] In 2016 the Palestinian Ministry of Health told Reuters that abortion was also allowed in cases of foetal impairment, if both parents consent.^[2] Abortion access in the occupied Palestinian territories is greatly impacted by Israel's military occupation and the resulting travel restrictions and conflicting legal systems.^[1] Estimates based on limited data suggest that 15% of pregnancies in Palestine end in abortion, and one third of these abortions are unsafe (self-induced or performed by an untrained provider).^[3]

Some doctors in the West Bank are willing to perform illegal abortions.^[4] The Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association, which provides referrals to such doctors, provided abortion-related services to more than 10,000 women in 2014.^[4] Misoprostol (Cytotec), which can be used to induce abortion, is widely available at pharmacies in the West Bank, according to a 2016 study.^[5] Stories of women trying to end their own pregnancies in dangerous ways (jumping from tall heights, inserting sharp objects into their bodies) are common and sometimes result in deaths.^[4]

In Israel, abortion is permitted when determined by a termination committee.^[2] Palestinians living in East Jerusalem have access to Israeli hospitals.^[2] Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza have obtained abortions in Israel, but the number appears to have been very small in the 2010s.^[2] Before the Second Intifada, many women living in the West Bank did travel to Jerusalem to receive abortion care.^[6]