Debate over Abortion Ignites Morocco's Socio-Religious Divide

Wednesday 15 May 2024 - 12:00

Amnesty International has reignited an old and divisive debate in Morocco, stirring the socio-religious fault lines by reiterating its call for the decriminalization of abortion in the North African kingdom. The renowned human rights organization released a report today, following a press conference, arguing that the criminalization of abortion has had severe consequences for women and girls.

"The criminalization of abortion in Morocco has devastating consequences for women and girls," the report stated, indicating that abortion seekers face the threat of imprisonment, creating a climate of fear. This drives women and girls to resort to dangerous methods to end unwanted pregnancies, including those resulting from rape.

Amnesty International's bleak assessment, however, clashes with the entrenched cultural and religious values of Morocco, a country with a predominantly Muslim, conservative population. One of the key tenets of Islam is the sanctity of life and the protection of the unborn. Islam prohibits abortion, and many Islamic scholars suggest that it is permitted only in cases where the pregnancy presents a danger to the mother's life.

In keeping with this prevailing position among Islamic scholars, Article 453 of the Moroccan penal code criminalizes abortion except in cases where the mother's life is at risk. In such "exceptional" cases, abortion can be legally practiced but with the husband's permission, as stipulated in the Moroccan penal code.

Amnesty International's report comes as a growing list of Moroccan NGOs advocate for the decriminalization of abortion as well as sex outside marriage. Such demands for liberalizing the laws surrounding abortion grew after the death of a 14-year-old girl, who lost her life due to an unsafe abortion in September 2022.

Since that tragic incident, Moroccan rights associations and feminist activists have constantly urged the country's authorities to reform the laws surrounding abortion and many other family-related matters. Many NGOs see such a change coming as part of the ongoing reforms to the family code and penal code.

In an April 2023 interview, Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi announced that the new penal code was "ready and can be presented to the parliament." Ouahbi's remarks about the liberal reforms, which he said Morocco needed for its laws to reflect the changes that have taken place in the lives of Moroccans in the past few years, caused widespread controversy as many conservative politicians and citizens decried what they described as the reprehensible westernization of Moroccan public life.

Among the fiercest critics of the reforms is the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD). The party, which served as Morocco's ruling party from 2011 to 2021 and now routinely makes headlines with comments denouncing the country's current ruling coalition, has notably accused Ouahbi of trying to provoke sedation with his announcement that the country's penal code was in need of reforms.

Calling for the liberalization of Morocco's family and penal codes is fundamentally un-Moroccan and against Islamic principles, the party has argued, saying that decriminalizing abortion and condoning sex outside marriage go against the Sharia (Islamic law) and the foundational principles of Moroccan society.

"Any reforms or review of the provisions of this law should take place within the framework of Islamic reference and national consensus, given that this concerns the foundations regulating the stability and cohesion of the state and society and the security of family and social relations," the PJD stressed in a press release in February 2023.

The party's comments did not sit well with Moroccan advocacy groups and feminist organizations, which in turn responded to PJD's condemnation of the liberalization of family laws by appealing to His Majesty King Mohammed VI to intervene.

In their appeal, the feminist activists and advocacy groups recalled the King's commitment to ensuring equality across different social fronts, including inheritance rights. While King Mohammed VI has been receptive to calls for reforms, he has insisted that all the announced reforms must adhere to Islamic principles and Sharia tenets.

"As the Commander of the Faithful, I pointed out before Parliament in 2023, when introducing the Moudawana, or Family Law, that I shall not make licit that which the Almighty has forbidden, nor shall I forbid that which he has authorized, particularly when it comes to matters of government by unequivocal Quranic prescriptions," the monarch said in a speech in July 2022.

Yet, at the request of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who has called for a comprehensive revision of existing legislation, Morocco is currently undergoing a major overhaul of its family code, setting the stage for a complex socio-religious debate that will shape the future of the nation.