<p> Maldives</p><p>ABORTION POLICY</p><p>Grounds on which abortion is permitted: </p><p>To save the life of the woman Yes To preserve physical health Yes To preserve mental health No Rape or incest No Foetal impairment No Economic or social reasons No Available on request No</p><p>Additional requirements:</p><p>Abortion is allowed only for certified medical reasons. The consent of the spouse is required.</p><p>REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CONTEXT</p><p>Government view on fertility level: Too high</p><p>Government intervention concerning fertility level: To lower </p><p>Government policy on contraceptive use: Direct support provided</p><p>Percentage of currently married women using modern contraception (aged 15-49): ..</p><p>Total fertility rate (1995-2000): 5.4</p><p>Age-specific fertility rate (per 1,000 women aged 15-19, 1995-2000) 54</p><p>Government has expressed particular concern about: Morbidity and mortality resulting from induced abortion .. Complications of childbearing and childbirth Yes</p><p>Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births, 1990): National .. South-central Asia 560</p><p>Female life expectancy at birth (1995-2000): 63.3</p><p>Source: The Population Policy Data Bank maintained by the Population Division of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. For additional sources, see list of references. 121 Maldives</p><p>BACKGROUND</p><p>Abortion is prohibited in the Maldives except for certified medical reasons. The consent of the spouse is required. Abortion is reportedly permitted where thalassaemia is diagnosed. Thalassaemia is a fatal genetic blood condition that is carried by 20 per cent of the population and affects one child in every 250.</p><p>The total fertility rate for 1995-2000 is estimated at 5.4 children per woman and half of the population is estimated to be under 15 years of age. Accordingly, the Government is concerned with balancing population growth and economic and ecological pressures. All methods of contraception are legal, and the Government supports family planning services. It has also developed educational programmes on population issues, in particular family planning. However, legal restrictions on the provision of contraceptives and the requirement of prescriptions for all methods, including condoms, limit expansion of contraceptive use.</p><p>At first, the main focus of the Government’s policy was on birth spacing in order to improve maternal and child health. In 1992, the Government established targets for fertility and contraceptive prevalence. However, no estimates are currently available. </p><p>Given the dispersal of its population (a quarter of a million people spread over 200 inhabited islands), the accesibility and high delivery costs of basic health services remains the main challenge. The provision of family planning services, contraceptives in particular, continues to be a main priority of the Government.</p><p>Source: The Population Policy Data Bank maintained by the Population Division of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. For additional sources, see list of references.</p><p>122</p>