Erdogan on Abortion

Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has caused a stir with strong pro-life comments:

"Addressing a conference in İstanbul on Friday, Erdoğan said no one should have the right to sanction abortion. 'Either you kill a baby in the mother's stomach or you kill a baby after birth. There is no difference,' Erdoğan said. He also expressed his opposition to C-section surgery, describing it as unnatural. Health Minister Recep Akdağ on Saturday confirmed plans to limit the number of C-section births at Turkish hospitals...

"In his speech Erdoğan further remarked that society should be more sensitive to the issue of abortion and that “we have to be together against this,” adding that, “Every abortion is like an Uludere,” a reference to the deaths of 34 civilians in December last year in a Turkish military airstrike near the Iraqi border in the Kurdish-dominated Southeast...

"Sharing her thoughts about Erdoğan’s comments, Family and Social Policy Minister Fatma Şahin has suggested that Erdoğan’s statements should be discussed on scientific grounds. 'Abortion is, of course, a right of individuals. But what the prime minister said was his personal observation. He pointed out the significance of family planning and taking necessary precautions before thinking of abortion as a solution. ... The prime minister’s statement that ‘abortion is a murder’ is merely to emphasize that when you terminate a pregnancy, if you did not take precautions beforehand, you are violating that baby’s right to life. To those criticizing the prime minister’s statements on this issue I recommend reading World Health Organization (WHO) reports,' the minister said."

Islam has had a variety of opinions concerning abortion, particularly due to an idea that the soul only enters the fetus about four months after conception.