Hundreds of women gathered on Sunday in Istanbul in the latest demonstration against the religiously conservative ruling party 's plans to restrict access to abortion . Last month Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan catapulted the issue to forefront of public debate in Turkey when he called abortion `` murder . '' A day later , he amplified the controversy by equating a botched military operation in Uludere with abortion . The Uludere massacre claimed the lives of 34 Kurds in southeastern Turkey when faulty intelligence led to an airstrike on a group of smugglers crossing the Turkish- Iraqi border . After Erdogan 's comment , Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdag issued a statement indicating that he would be submitting a proposal to lawmakers in the upcoming month , raising fears that the ruling Justice and Development Party , or AKP , was preparing to introduce legislation to curb , if not fully block , access to abortion . Forced abortion sparks outrage in China . The protesters who convened Sunday marched to Istanbul 's busy Taksim Square , carrying signs that read `` AKP : Get your hands off my body , '' `` Murder is outlawing abortion , '' and `` Abortion is a right . Uludere is a massacre . '' Many protesters believe that Erdogan is playing to his base of culturally conservative voters , a strategy in line with his views as a pious Muslim as well as one that protestors see as an attempt to divert attention from the operation in Uludere . `` The prime minster is conservative . He does have Islamist sensibilities as well as his party , obviously , so he is trying to impose his understanding of faith and what Islam demands and so on to the rest of the population , '' said Binnaz Toprak , an opposition party Parliamentarian attending Sunday 's march . `` But at the same time I also feel that this is a cover-up for the Uludere massacre . '' Abortion up until the 10th week of pregnancy was legalized in Turkey in 1983 and has rarely , if ever , inspired much public debate in the three decades since . Public support today also seems to remain high , with a poll commissioned by Turkish newspaper Haberturk indicating that 55.5 % of Turks do not support a ban on abortion . Experts warn that restricted access does not decrease the abortion rate but drives the procedure underground , creating a black market that threatens maternal health and more adversely affects poorer women who do not have access to safe abortions abroad . Turkey has a 14.8 % abortion rate compared to 18.9 % in the United States , according to a 2011 United Nations Population Division study . U.S. House rejects sex-selection abortion ban . Erdogan is seeking to restrict not only abortion but also births by caesarean section , a procedure whose growing popularity he has attributed to secret foreign plots to stall Turkey 's economic growth . Turkey 's incidence of births by caesarean section -- more than 45 % in 2011 , according to the Turkish Health Ministry -- is much higher than the World Health Organization 's recommended rate . CDC : More C-sections than ever in U.S. Erdogan 's worries about declining birth rates may be unfounded . Turkey , in comparison to its European neighbors , does not face population decline , with a projected population growth rate of 1.14 % compared with Europe 's 0.11 % , according to the United Nations . `` It is about having more people in Turkey . To have more workers to work and then during war , they need more soldiers , '' said Nacide Berber , a member of the Feminist Collective at Sunday 's protest . Poll : 'Pro-choice ' at record low . Erdogan , a social and religious conservative , has outraged feminists in Turkey in the past by insisting that women bear at least three children to ensure a young population to keep Turkey 's economy strong . Then , while on a trip to Kazakhstan , he urged women to have five children . `` Actually , you know , it 's not a shock for us , for women . One year ago Erdogan told us to raise three babies and then five babies and now he wants us to have babies all the time , '' said Berber .
Last month Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan called abortion `` murder '' He has said Turkish women should bear at least three children . Protesters carried signs including `` Murder is outlawing abortion ''