Bodies of fetuses on the roof of a clinic in Tunisia.. an issue that shakes public opinion in Tunisia

Bodies of fetuses on the roof of a clinic sparking outrage in Tunisia, where the Public Prosecution office in Tunis opened an investigation, Thursday, to reveal the circumstances of the discovery of the bodies of 5 premature fetuses buried on the roof of a private medical clinic, in the northern province of Bizerte.

This move came, in interaction with a shocking video clip circulated on social media, showing 5 scattered bodies of incomplete fetuses, which were discovered buried inside pots designated for planting ornamental plants, on the roof of a private doctor's office.

The police, who arrested the doctor who owns the clinic and is still continuing their research to uncover the merits of this case, suggested that the source of these fetuses was the result of illegal abortions inside the doctor’s office.

Tunisian law does not prevent a woman from performing an abortion and permits the abortion of the fetus, provided that the pregnancy does not exceed 3 months, and it is authorized after 3 months if it is feared that the continuation of the pregnancy will cause the mother’s health to collapse, and in both cases, the pregnancy must be aborted in A hospital or sanatorium licensed by a physician legally practicing his profession.

Except in these two cases, the law stipulates that “a woman shall be punished for the crime of abortion under any circumstance, whether she uses a home means for abortion or goes to an equipped center, with imprisonment for two years and a fine of 650 dollars. Parents, relatives, the doctor who performed the operation, or the pharmacist who sold the abortion medicine, and the penalty is tightened to reach 10 years for anyone who helped the abortion and has medical authority to perform the abortion or give drugs that help with it.”

The official agency quoted the official spokesman for the Court of First Instance in Bizerte, confirming that a number of examinations were conducted and the five embryos were transferred to the hospital in the region and presented to the forensic doctor for autopsy, with permission to keep the doctor of the medical clinic from which the embryos were discovered not far from.

In addition, the Syndicate of Doctors in Tunisia called for the corpses of fetuses to be mummified and returned for years, noting that “the doctor who was decided to stop is an old man and is 80 years old, and he is a general practitioner and is not a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology,” according to the statement of its general clerk.