EGYPT-ABORTION-TBs-CCPR

Concluding Observations on Report 5 (2023) (Link)

Voluntary termination of pregnancy and sexual and reproductive rights

19. While noting the measures taken by the State party to improve the availability and accessibility of sexual and reproductive health information and services, the Committee is concerned by reports that many women and girls continue to experience barriers to accessing a range of methods of contraception due to such factors as geographic location and socioeconomic status. The Committee is also concerned that such barriers, combined with a highly restrictive legal framework for accessing abortion legally, reportedly result in a high number of unsafe abortions being carried out clandestinely and subject to criminal prosecution under articles 260 to 264 of the Penal Code. The Committee is further concerned that the State party’s legislation and regulations providing for cases in which abortion can be accessed legally do not allow for terminating a pregnancy legally in cases in which carrying a pregnancy to term would cause the pregnant woman or girl substantial pain or suffering, most notably when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest (arts. 2, 3, 6, 7, 17 and 26).

20. In the light of paragraph 8 of the Committee’s general comment No. 36 (2018) on the right to life, the State party should:

(a) Amend its legislative and regulatory framework concerning abortion to expand the legal justification for terminating a pregnancy to include cases in which carrying a pregnancy to term would cause the pregnant woman or girl substantial pain or suffering, most notably when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest;

(b) Amend articles 260 to 264 of the Penal Code to ensure that women and girls who have recourse to abortion and the doctors or others who attend to them are not subject to criminal penalties, and lift barriers, such as those relating to medical authorizations, since the existence of such penalties and barriers compel women and girls to resort to unsafe abortions;

(c) Strengthen measures taken to ensure that women and girls are able to access a wide range of affordable contraception methods.

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Concluding Observations on Report 3-4 (2002) (Link)

[no mention]

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Concluding Observations on Report 2 (1993) (Link)

[no mention]

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Concluding Observations on Report 1 (1984) (Link)

[no mention]

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