Will UAE Legalise Abortion? Surprising Shift Ahead Of American States

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is mulling the legalisation of abortion in instances of rape and incest. The Islamic state would allow the procedure to be performed within 120 days (seven weeks) of pregnancy. Reportedly, the rape or case of incest must be reported immediately and then proven by a report from the Public Prosecution. The decision will come into effect once announced in the Official Gazette. Existing UAE laws only permit abortion in cases of risk to the mother’s life or severe abnormalities in the foetus. The UAE's new and relaxed abortion laws come at a time when 14 states in the United States of America have banned all or almost all forms of abortion since 2022.

UAE To Legalise Abortion

The UAE’s Cabinet Resolution No. (44) of 2024 connected to Medical Liability law states that abortion is allowed “if the pregnancy is the result of intercourse with a female against her will, without her consent, or adequate volition” and “if the person who caused the pregnancy is an ancestor of the woman or one of her mahram [ineligible for marriage] relatives” as reported by The National.

According to the Islamic country's Penal Code, the penalty for rape is life imprisonment. The accused could face capital punishment if the victim is under 18 or “has a physical disability or suffers from a health condition that renders her unable to resist, or if the perpetrator is one of the victim’s ascendants or non-marriageable relatives," according to the law.

Reportedly, abortion is a topic of contention in Islam; The notion of ‘life’ beginning at conception does not apply in the religious context. Islam states that ‘ensoulment’ applies from when the foetus is 120 days old, but even then, abortions do come with restrictions. Before the 120-day mark, while the foetus is a living being inside the womb, it isn’t considered a human life.

If abortion is legalised in the UAE, the law would be far more liberal than in several US States. Following the 2022 US Supreme Court decision to remove federal constitutional protections for abortion, nine states have imposed stringent restrictions even in the case of rape or incest, according to a healthcare research nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).