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Rabat – Police in Marrakech arrested 6 members of a network involved in illegal abortion, in April.
According to Omar Arbib, member of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH), Marrakech section, who spoke to France Press-Agency (AFP) on May 14, the network members are two interns in medicine, a medical student, and a pilot who imported an anti-inflammatory from Spain.
The suspects will appear at court on May 24, charged with practicing illegal abortions and the illegal import of medicines.
The abortion operations were conducted in a private apartment in Marrakech, the group were charging MAD 3000 ($311) for the illegal procedures.
Article 453 of the Moroccan penal code states that a doctor found to have carried out an abortion may be sentenced to between 1 and 5 years in prison. Women caught undergoing illegal abortions will also receive prison sentences of between 6 months and 2 years.
Read also:Â Moroccan Feminist Group Demands Abortion Rights
According to a report by the Moroccan Association for Family Planning (AMPF), the number of abortions carried out in Morocco every day is estimated to stand between 50,000 and 80,000.
Around 4.2% of maternal death is due to illegal abortions. Abortion in Morocco is legal only in the cases of married women can prove that pregnancy will harm their health, in these cases, their husband must also sanction the procedure.
Abortion mortality accounts for 13% of maternal death globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
