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World Bulletin / News Desk

According to a new law passed in Turkish Parliament on Wednesday, caesarean births can now only be carried out in cases of medical necessity in Turkey.

The Health Ministry's recent release of statistics on Caesarean births in Turkey has sparked a debate on the topic. In May of 2012 Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he is against Caesarean births and considers abortion a crime, shortly after which the new law was passed in order to reduce the number of births by C-section in Turkey.

The rate of C-section births in 2009 was 39.3 percent for public hospitals, 61.8 percent for private hospitals and 63.2 percent for university hospitals. In 2010 these rates increased to 40.2 percent, 63.7 percent and 65.2 percent, respectively. By 2011 rates stood at 36.8 percent of all deliveries in public hospitals, 66.6 percent in private hospitals and 65.9 percent in university hospitals, indicating a gradual increase in C-sections.