Medical liability law spells out conditions under which abortion is legal in the UAE

A medical liability law was passed last year, setting out clear guidelines and criteria for abortions in the UAE.

The law enhances articles stated in a 2008 law that medical professionals said were unclear. Members of the public and some doctors believed abortions were illegal in the UAE.

According to the law, an abortion is legal under two circumstances – if the pregnancy puts the mother’s life at risk, or if the foetus is less than 120 days old and suffers from disorders that make it “incompatible with life”.

“If an abnormality is found after 120 days, if the mother did not come in time for whatever reason, then by law we cannot terminate the pregnancy and the mother has to go through with the pregnancy and deliver the baby,” said Dr Paul Bosio, chief medical officer at Corniche Hospital in Abu Dhabi.

Even if an abnormality is detected before 120 days, a termination is not a given, Dr Bosio said. It is permissible only when “the baby has a lethal condition that is not compatible with life and the baby would not survive”.

He said: “It cannot be over a disability or Down syndrome, for example, because that is compatible with life.

“There is a long list of genetic or congenital errors but many are very rare. The common ones are Edwards or Turner syndrome. Then there are structural problems such as a heart that isn’t divided properly, or lungs that don’t work, or absent kidneys.

“It is not about the quality of life – these are babies that won’t survive more than a couple of hours, and for that we refer to Sharia and UAE law, which are aligned.”

Dr Bosio said the law was similar in many other countries and some were more restrictive. “In some countries termination of pregnancy is illegal irrespective of whether the baby has lethal abnormalities or not.”

While abortion rates are in the “appropriate range”, according to Dr Bosio, numbers are increasing because of early detection, he said.