Since Palestinian laws prohibit abortions if the pregnancy is a danger to the mother’s mental health, or even a result of rape or incest, most Palestinian women have no other choice but to turn to Israel, where laws are far more lenient.
By Reuters
“Fatma”, a mother of twins with a demanding workload, was distraught to discover she was pregnant again. Her doctor agreed to perform an abortion, she says, only after she promised to pretend the procedure had been a medical emergency.

Palestinian women stand on a beach in Gaza City during sunset on summer’s day – Photo: Reuters/Archive
“He felt sorry for me and told me, ‘If someone asks you how you ended up having an abortion, I will be in trouble and will lose my job, so say you were hemorrhaging at the time,'” said Fatma, who lives in the West Bank. Continue Reading »