UAE announces new regulations on abortion access

The United Arab Emirates’ Health and Prevention Ministry announced new regulations on abortion last week, clarifying the cases in which a woman is allowed to terminate her pregnancy. 

The new regulation allows women to request an abortion during the first 120 days of pregnancy. A committee will then examine the request, and if the committee finds a medical case for the abortion, the woman will be allowed to undergo an abortion. According to regulation, abortions will be performed only by specialist obstetrician-gynecologists in licensed healthcare facilities.

Abortion is permitted in the UAE when the pregnant woman’s life is at risk or if the fetus has a severe deformity. About 73 million abortions take place around the world annually, accounting for 29% of pregnancies each year. 

“While abortions do have a significant emotional impact on parents, they are not unusual and certainly do not stand as an indication that the mother is unfit to give birth to another life,” Dr. Rabia Mirza, a gynecologist, told The Media Line.

Reproductive health care regulations

The regulatory committees will include three doctors, including a psychiatrist and a gynecologist, as well as a representative from the UAE prosecutor’s office. The committee is permitted to consult a third party when specialized advice is needed.

“It remains to be seen how these requests will be dealt with in practice once these committees are up and running,” James Clarke, a Dubai-based healthcare lawyer, told The Media Line. “However, the takeaway point is that someone won’t be able to go to a clinic today and have an abortion under these new rules.”

The new regulations from the Health Ministry also make it easier for women to receive an abortion in a life-threatening emergency by removing the requirement that a woman give her consent before an emergency abortion is performed.  

The UAE’s reproductive health care regulations are complex. While there are some federal guidelines, much of the authority rests with the country’s seven individual emirates. With Muslims making up about three-quarters of the UAE population and non-Muslims accounting for the other quarter, the country faces the difficult task of ensuring access to reproductive health care while also respecting cultural sensitivities.

“When a pregnancy endangers a woman’s life or when the fetus cannot survive independently, it is our duty to provide clear, compassionate, and thorough counseling,” Mirza said. “This includes educating the mother about her medical condition, the types of abortion procedures available, and the potential risks if the procedure is delayed.”