Abortion as an indicator of poverty and tourism

In 2016, 159.5 thousand children were born in Azerbaijan, and 34.6 thousand abortions were made. That is, more than 21 abortions against 100 successful births. Moreover, according to the report of the State Statistics Committee, 20.3 thousand women made abortion at the age 15-29 years.

Last year, 19 women aged 15-17 years deliberately decided to kill their unborn child. In 2015, the last indicator was terrifying - 50 women in the age of 15-17.

In 2014, 27 220 abortions were made in Azerbaijan, which means 15.9 abortions for every hundred newborns. In 2013, there were 27000 abortions in the country.

The number of abortions in the country is growing, one of the main reasons is the property of women who are conscious that they will not be able to raise children. Some are throwing themselves into a terrible extreme: yesterday in Shamkir, a woman rushed under the train, holding in her hands two young sons. They all died.

The second problem is abortion in order to prevent the birth of a girl. First in the world on the number of selective abortions ranks China. Azerbaijan is in the top five countries in the neighborhood with India, Georgia, Armenia. The deliberate killing of unborn girls is a sign of society's backwardness, in which it is considered normal to wish the newlyweds to have seven sons and one daughter, or such a phrase that is common in Azerbaijan: "a real man has a son."

To combat selective abortions in Azerbaijan, the prenatal determination of the sex of the fetus is legally forbidden, if this procedure is not caused by medical indications. In March 2017, the Milli Majlis made amendments to the Criminal Code prohibiting illegal abortions. The amount of the fine (from one thousand to 1,5 thousand manats) increased for an abortion made by a person who does not have a special higher medical education.

The third reason for the increase in the number of abortions was voiced by the chairman of the Public Union "Clean World" Mehriban Zeynalova, who stated that the figures of the State Statistics Committee reflect only officially registered abortions. "The UNICEF report noted that 5000 cases of early marriages were registered in Azerbaijan. The cases of abortion in these marriages should be studied separately. In addition, people ask for an abortion after being raped. A separate category includes young girls who provide intimate services. We have enough facts that indicate that they often turn to doctors for the purpose of artificial termination of pregnancy," M.Zeynalova stated.

The Minister of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan reported that in 2017 tourism in the country grew by a quarter, and the media published articles on the popularity of sexual tourism in Azerbaijan among Arab men, which is purposefully organized by high-ranking Azerbaijani officials. For them, this article is a special income. This means that the indicator of the number of abortions this year may exceed last year's "achievement".

Abortion in Azerbaijan was allowed on November 23, 1955, from the time of the USSR. Currently, Azerbaijani legislation permits abortion at the request of a pregnant woman in the first 28 weeks. After the first 28 weeks, termination of pregnancy can be done only for serious reasons: medical or social. Abortion for medical reasons can be performed at any time of pregnancy.