Abstract:

Pregnancy and birth cause various health problems for women and maternal deaths, as a result this; it strongly influences women’s participation and involvement in social life.  Each year, 287 thousand women die due to pregnancy, birth and after-birth complications and many more women continue their lives with serious health problems and disabilities. Conversely, women’s fertility levels be it high or low, is an important factor which affects the size and quality of the population. The size, increase, decrease and the structure of population has always been subject to various political or economical debates; according to some opinions it has even been argued as a main source of social problems. Consequently, various types of interventions to increase or decrease the fertility rates of women occurred based on political, economical or cultural influence. Turkey implemented pronatalistic policies in order to increase fertility rates in the first decades of the Republican period; then, antinatalistic policies so as to decrease fertility rates between the 60’s and 90’s. Currently, in the last 15 years, pronatalistic arguments are in effect once again. Reproductive rights perspective, which can be defined as the rights of women and couples with regard to the joint decisions of men and women to decide freely on their fertility and related issues. It presents a framework which is sensitive to different choices and lifestyles, disregarding the state policies both aiming to increase or decrease the fertility rates. The role of state, in this framework, is to create the supportive conditions and proper health services for realisation of these various options.    

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