Epress.am News from Armenia
By an Armenian Government decision from 2015, before undergoing an abortion, a woman is given a three-day period for consideration. According to experts in the sphere, this creates a wealth of problems particularly for women from rural communities and forces them to resort to abortions at home, Anush Poghosyan, a representative of the Women’s Resource Center NGO, said at a press conference in Yerevan on Thursday, September 28.
Despite the existence of a law permitting abortion before the 12-week period, this procedure still remains inaccessible for many Armenian women, Poghosyan added: “Last summer we organized a tour to Gegharkunik province. A woman told us that she had to go to a neighboring town to get an abortion because the procedure is not conducted in their village. There she was told to leave and return in 3 days. But because of heavy snow and blocked roads, she went back only in 2 weeks. She was told then that the term had already expired and that they could not carry out the abortion.” According to the expert, the woman had to resort to a home abortion, “which may lead to irreparable consequences.”
Giving women a three-day period before the termination of pregnancy might, after all, be inexpedient, Violeta Zopunyan, chairman of the Center for Rights Development NGO, believes: “It would be advisable for the doctor to try to immediately find out whether the woman needed this period for making a final decision. If abortion is considered a woman’s right, it must be carried out without any preconditions. Women should not have to have any obstructions or difficulties when exercising their right.”