Rabat – Moroccan police arrested on Saturday three suspects for their alleged involvement in illegal abortion and drug trafficking operations.
The arrest of the suspect, including a nurse, took place in Kenitra, near Rabat, in coordination with the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST).
The police arrested the nurse suspects red-handed as they were performing an illegal abortion on a woman inside the nurse’s apartment.
The nurse is considered the main suspect in the criminal acts, Moroccan news agency MAP quoted a security source as saying.
Search operations enabled police to seize medical equipment, drugs, injections, and money as well as a check under the name of the person receiving the abortion procedure.
Police helped the woman to be transferred to a hospital by ambulance while three suspects were subjected to a judicial investigation to determine all circumstances of the act.
Morocco punishes individuals involved in abortion, which is illegal in the country, which is illegal in the country under Article 453 of the penal code, except in cases where the physical health of the mother is at risk.
In recent years, several associations and activists called for reforms to the country’s abortion law, advocating for safe and legal access to abortion.
The calls for reforms have intensified following the tragic case of a 14-year-old girl named Meriem, who lost her life due to an unsafe clandestine abortion.
The Spring of Dignity Alliance, among other associations, has criticized the existing laws, claiming that they push “women and girls to seek unsafe clandestine abortions regardless of the circumstances surrounding their pregnancies.”
The association has called for a “comprehensive and radical reform of Morocco’s criminal law,” ensuring alignment with the constitution and international covenants.
Moroccan police arrested in recent years several people involved in illegal abortion practices.
Last year in June, police arrested a 65-year-old retired doctor for his alleged involvement in an abortion practice in Agadir.
