Overview
One of the few secular states in the Muslim World, Turkey’s legal regime is restrictive yet rather liberal if compared to the rest of the Muslim world. A wide range of ART are available to infertile comples. However in 2010 the Ministry of Health of Turkey revised its regulations pertaining to ART introducing new prohibitions and in particular restriction on the number of embryos that must be transferred as part of IVF. Women under 35 in their first and second cycles of IVF can only have a single embryo transferred, and a maximum of two embryos can be transferred for women over 35 and women under 35 on their third or subsequent IVF cycles (Guzoglu et at. 2012).
Turkey has no regulations for stem cell practices. In 2005, the Ministry of Health announced a 2005 memorandum stating that until specific guidelines are established, hESC derivation and research should not be performed in the country. The government thus halted research with embryonic stem cells and allowed only research with adult cells or on imported embryonic stem cells. As of today, there is no regulation of embryonic stem cells although academic and scientific bodies have issued calls for legislative intervention to allow research with hESC.
Abortion services have been readily available since 1983 when it was first legalized. Abortions can be performed to pregnancies not exceeding 10 weeks. Most of the public hospitals and maternal health clinics perform abortion; however, these services are mainly provided without sufficient family planning counseling. The “morning after” birth control pill (NorLevo) is available over-the-counter. The cost is not reimbursed or covered by social security. Mifepristone is not available.
Euthanasia is forbidden. Physician-assisted suicide is criminally sanctioned as under article 84 of the Turkish Criminal Law. Similarly active euthanasia is punished under article 81 (“any person who carries out this act will be judged and punished for life imprisonment just like a simple murder.”) Turkish patients have a right to reject the beginning of treatment in a serious illness. However, once treatment has begun, the patient no longer has the right to stop its administration. Advance directives are not enforceable.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:
Passive euthanasia occurs across Turkey due to insufficient health services despite the lack of legal recognition for assisted suicide, according to legal and medical experts. Professor Yener Ünver of Yeditepe University Law School called for reform recognizing a strictly controlled right to euthanasia in Turkey instead of the ad hoc passive form that is currently occurring. Souce: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=no-legal-euthanasia-in-turkey-but-patients-left-to-die-experts-say-2010-11-09.
FURTHER READINGS:
Guzoglu, Nilufer, H. Gozde Kanmaz, Dilek Dilli, Nurdan Uras, Omer Erdeve, and Ugur Dilmen. "The impact of the new Turkish regulation, imposing single embryo transfer after assisted reproduction technology, on neonatal intensive care unit utilization: a single center experience." Human Reproduction 27, no. 8 (August 1, 2012 2012): 2384-2388.
Aksoy, Sahin. "Ethical considerations on end of life issues in Turkey (in Bioethics in Asia in the 21st Century)." http://www.eubios.info/ABC4/abc4079.htm.
Guven, Tolga, and Gurkan Sert. "Advance directives in Turkey's cultural context: examining the potential benefits for the implementation of patient rights." Bioethics 24, no. 3 (2010): 127-133.
http://www.ec-ec.org/emergency-contraception-in-europe/country-by-country-information-2/turkey/
Abortion
68 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete
Abortion and contraception allow women to express their freedom of reproduction by exercising their right of self-determination over their bodies.
Measurement questions
Is abortion lawful to protect woman's life?
Yes
Is abortion lawful to protect woman's physical health?
Yes
Is abortion lawful to protect woman's mental health?
Legal during 1st trimester only
Is abortion lawful in the event the woman was raped?
Legal during 1st trimester only
Is abortion lawful in the event of fetal defects?
Yes
Does the law mandate that an abortion is performed at the mere request of a pregnant woman?
Legal during 1st trimester only
Is RU-486 (Mifepristone) approved or registered for use?
No
Are emergency contraception drugs lawfully available?
Yes, from a pharmacist without requiring a prescription
Are family planning services provided through government-run programs and facilities?
Yes, directly
Is spousal notification/permission required?
Yes
Assisted Reproduction
28 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete
Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are the methods used to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means. Access to assisted reproduction concerns our ability to expand our right to health by offering us access to treatment to overcome infertility.
Measurement questions
Is preimplantation genetic diagnosis permissible?
Yes with no restrictions
Is oocyte cryopreservation permissible?
No
Is embryo cryopreservation permissible for reproductive purposes?
Yes
Is sperm donation permissible?
No
Is oocyte donation permissible?
No
Are IVF surrogacy agreements enforceable?
No
Marital status requirements?
Yes
Do same-sex couples have access to ART?
No
Do single women have access to ART?
No
Are there any limits on the number of pre-embryos that can be transferred?
Yes
End of life
33 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete
End of life decisions concern our ability to make choices concerning the end of our lives and take of the form of refusal of life sustaining treatment, being help in committing suicide, choosing euthanasia, and make choices that must be upheld even when the person becomes unconscious. As Young (2010) noted, "People have an interest in making important decisions about their lives in accordance with their own conception of how they want their lives to go."
Measurement questions
Is passive euthanasia lawful?
Unclear because of conflicting/insufficient authority
Is active euthanasia lawful?
Legally prohibited
Is physician-assisted suicide lawful?
Legally prohibited
Are advance directives (AD) enforceable?
No
Is a physician required to respect a patient's refusal of life-sustaining treatment?
Yes
Research with embryos
0 pts out of 100 / 0,00% complete
Research with embryos and pre-embryos as well as therapeutic cloning concerns scientists’ freedom to investigate human biology as well as patients’ freedom to access regenerative medicine treatments that may be developed as a result of research with human embryonic stem cells. Since the early 2000s, research with embryos has been at the center of an often-polarized debate about the nature and scope of scientific freedom.
Measurement questions
Is basic research using germline modification in human embryos/gametes permitted?
Is pre-clinical research using germline modification technologies in animals permitted?
Is clinical research using germline modification technologies in humans permitted?
Are clinical applications of research using germline modification technologies (i.e., to initiate a pregnancy with edited embryos or with edited gametes) permitted?
GM Crops
50 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete
GM crops have contributed significantly to modern agriculture. Plant breeding using genetic modification techniques has led to improving crops in more targeted ways than classical breeding techniques. GM crops acquire desirable characteristics, including pest and herbicide resistance, enhanced robustness against diseases, drought or water tolerance, and healthier profiles that can enhance nutrition.
Measurement questions
Is research on GMOs permitted in the laboratories?
Yes
Is notification to start research on GMOs in laboratories required?
Yes
Is research on GMOs frequent?
No
Are GM crop field trials (the limited release into the environment for research purposes) permitted?
Yes
Is authorization to start a GM crop field trial required?
Yes/prohibited
Are GM crop field trials frequent?
No/prohibited
Is cultivation of GM crops (for commercial purposes) in open field permitted?
No
Is authorization to start open field cultivation of GM crops required?
Yes/prohibited
Is open field cultivation of GM crops frequent?
No/prohibited
Can GM crop commodities harvested in other countries be imported?
Yes
Is authorization to import GM crop commodities required?
Yes/prohibited
Is the import of GM crop commoties frequent?
Yes
Right To Science Indicators
Measurement questions
- Access to benefits
What is the total general government expenditure on education?
13.13
What is the expenditure on tertiary as % of government expenditure on education?
35.48
What is the the percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed a doctoral degree or equivalent?
What is the percentage of population that uses the Internet?
58.35
What is the quality of math and science education on a scale from 1 to 7 being "excellent"?
3.3
To what extent is the Internet used in schools for learning purposes?
4.1
What is the scientific literacy of 15-year-old students as measured by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)(mean score)?
425
- Opportunities to participate
Does the law mandate nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring?
Yes
What is the percentage of females employed with advanced degrees out of total employed?
23.4
- Enabling environment
How many scientific and technical journal articles are published each year in physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, clinical medicine, biomedical research, engineering and technology, and earth and space sciences?
33902.2
What is the percentage of GDP allocated to Research and Development?
1.01
How may published articles have received at least H citations in the period 1996–2014?
24.9
What is the quality of scientific research institutions?
3.3
To what extent do business and universities collaborate on research and development (R&D)?
3.5
What is the average university ranking score of countries based on their top 3 universities?
28
To what extent are scientists and engineers available?
4.3
How many professionals are employed as researchers?
3.6
How many professionals are employed by government as researchers?
6.9
- International cooperation
To what extent are talented people attracted from abroad?
2.6