Abortion OKd for Some Rape Victims

A panel of Muslim clerics has decided to allow women raped by Islamic militants to undergo abortions, a newspaper reported. An estimated 1,600 women have been raped since an insurgency began in 1992, prompting government officials to appeal to religious authorities for an exception to the country’s abortion ban. The High Islamic Council sent an order to the Solidarity Ministry authorizing “women raped by the terrorists to end their pregnancies,” Al Khabar reported. The newspaper said the term “abortion” was avoided to ensure that the ruling was not used as a general authority to end pregnancies.