Anti-abortion Policies in Late Ottoman Empire and Early Republican Turkey: Intervention of State on Women’s Body and Reproductivity

The issue of abortion started to be perceived as a public health problem during the late Ottoman eraand early Republican Turkey by the state and committing an abortion was accepted as a crime that wascommitted against the whole society. This paper states that the criminalization of abortion startingfrom late Ottoman era as an intervention on reproductivity is an act on female body since it implied theassignment of a duty on women as child raisers and reduces female identity into motherhood. Hence,this state interference on female body paved the way for women’s inferior position subjected to onlybeing mothers by eulogizing the duty of child bearing. In this paper, the concept of abortion is studiedthrough legal changes during the late Ottoman and early Republican era by the edicts and legaldocuments of the term indicating the applications and events related to abortion. The policies in earlyRepublican Turkey went hand in hand with the applications of the general frame work of healthpolicies of late Ottoman era which were a part of the reform movements starting in late 18th century.