Baku, July 13, 2017
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has approved amendments to the law “On the Protection of the Health of the Population,” stipulating the prohibition of advertisements on abortion and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), reports Interfax-Religion.
The text of the amendments was published on the website of the president on Thursday.
The document notes that the government’s role in health care for mothers and children is constantly in the spotlight, and that there have been significant improvements in recent years, including equipping regional prenatal care centers with modern equipment. As a result, maternal mortality rates have decreased from 34.2 per 1,000 in 2006 to 14.5 in 2013, and infant mortality rates from 11.9 to 10.8. However, as the document notes, there is much yet to do in the area of mothers’ and children’s health.
According to the amendments, a point was included in article 11 of the law, prohibiting the advertising of medical services providing abortion and IVF.
Amendments introduced into the law allow the advertising of over-the-counter medicines, medical equipment, treatment methods, prophylactics, diagnostics, and rehabilitation permitted by the appropriate executive authorities.
Requirements for advertising medicines, equipment and medical supplies, and medical services are defined by the laws “On Advertising” and “On Medicines.”
