- Abortion legal status
- Legal
- Emergency number
- 112
Updated July 2026 · Sources cited: beforeturkey.com, travel.state.gov
Good to know
Good to Know
- Dial 112 for police/ambulance in an emergency; English-language interpretation is available on this line.
- The Alo 183 hotline is a free, 24/7, multilingual government line specifically meant to help victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse.
- Foreign visitors can also use the YIMER 157 line, which offers support in English, Arabic, Russian, and Farsi in addition to Turkish.
- If you experience a sexual assault, seeking medical/forensic help within about 72 hours is recommended to preserve evidence, even though this can be difficult given the trauma involved.
- Emergency contraception ('acil kontrasepsiyon') and regular birth control pills are sold over the counter at Istanbul pharmacies without a prescription or age restriction — you may just need to ask, as it's often stored behind the counter rather than displayed.
- IUDs and implants require a clinic/gynecologist visit for insertion, unlike the pill or emergency contraception which can be bought directly at a pharmacy.
- At least one pharmacy in any Istanbul neighborhood is legally required to stay open 24 hours, so contraception access isn't limited to daytime hours.
- Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention on violence against women in 2021, which has drawn criticism from women's rights advocates about the strength of the country's protective framework, even though domestic laws against violence remain in force.
- Turkey's 10-week legal cutoff for elective abortion is strict and non-negotiable — if you're pregnant and considering this, don't delay getting an ultrasound-confirmed weeks of pregnancy.
- Public hospitals frequently decline to perform non-emergency abortions even though it's legal; private hospitals and private OB-GYN clinics are the realistic route for most residents and visitors.
- If you're married, be aware Turkish law requires your spouse's written consent for an abortion within the legal window — this can complicate things for nomad couples.
- Don't expect a pharmacy abortion pill option — medication abortion isn't legally available in Turkey, so procedures are in-clinic (vacuum aspiration or D&C).
- Şişli, Nişantaşı, Levent, and Beşiktaş are the neighborhoods with the highest concentration of private, internationally-oriented OB-GYN clinics and hospitals, most with English-speaking staff.
Street, Night and Taxi Safety
Taxis and Ride-hailing
Locally, the ride-hailing app BiTaksi (which works with licensed yellow and turquoise taxis) and Uber (which in Istanbul also dispatches licensed taxis rather than private cars) are described as the safer choice because they lock in the driver's identity, route, and an upfront or metered fare, which removes much of the room for overcharging disputes. The most commonly documented taxi problem is not violence but fare manipulation — drivers claiming a "broken" meter, quoting an inflated fixed price, or starting the meter at the higher night rate during the day — and street-hailed taxis away from official ranks are where this is reported most. If hailing on the street, checking that the meter is visibly running and matches the day rate is the standard precaution sources recommend.
Official U.S. Government Guidance on Sexual Assault Risk
The U.S. Department of State's travel guidance for Turkey states that sexual assault is a documented risk in specific settings: Turkish baths (hamams) or spas, night clubs, in taxis, and when traveling alone at night, and notes that assaults involving date-rape drugs have also been reported. It adds that the U.S. embassy is aware of several sexual assaults against U.S. citizens in Turkey, particularly women, and that these have affected tourists traveling solo or in small groups. This is country-level guidance from the State Department rather than an Istanbul-specific count, but it is the most authoritative documented source on this risk.
Abortion Law
- Summary
- Abortion in Turkey has been legal on request since 1983, but is only straightforward to access up to a strict 10-week cutoff, and practical access is uneven.
- Legal Status
- Fully legal and regulated
- Legal Framework
- Population Planning Law No. 2827 (1983) and the Turkish Penal Code.
Access In Practice
- Legality does not equal easy access: only a small fraction of public hospitals actually perform elective terminations, and women are often redirected to private hospitals or informal channels.
- Some individual hospitals and doctors impose stricter unofficial cutoffs (sometimes citing 6 weeks instead of the legal 10) or claim abortion is unavailable/illegal, which is not accurate under national law.
- Medication (pill-based) abortion is not a legal option in Turkey in practice: mifepristone is not licensed, and misoprostol has been restricted since 2012 to hospital-pharmacy use for non-obstetric indications only. In-clinic procedures (vacuum aspiration or D&C) are the standard method.
- Because of these barriers, a nomad seeking termination in Istanbul should expect to go through a private hospital or private OB-GYN clinic rather than the public system, and to act quickly given the hard 10-week ceiling.
Abortion Time Limits
- Elective On Request
- Up to the 10th week of pregnancy (calculated from the last menstrual period, confirmed by ultrasound). No reason needs to be given within this window.
- Life Or Severe Fetal Anomaly
- No fixed abortion time limit when the pregnant person's life is at risk or in cases of severe/life-incompatible fetal anomaly, but this requires written confirmation from an OB-GYN specialist (in practice, a medical board) based on objective medical findings.
- Pregnancy From A Criminal Act
- Up to 20 weeks in cases of pregnancy resulting from a criminal act (e.g. rape), subject to reporting/investigation requirements.
Consent Requirements
- Minors
- Parental or legal-guardian consent is required for anyone under 18; a judicial bypass is possible in some cases.
- Married Women
- Spousal (husband's) consent is legally required for married women seeking an abortion within the 10-week window, even during divorce proceedings.
- Unmarried Adult Women
- Women 18 or older who are unmarried can consent to an abortion on their own; no partner permission is needed.
OB-GYN Options
Istanbul Florence Nightingale Hospital (OB-GYN Department)
- Type
- Large private hospital, JCI and ISO accredited
- Neighborhood
- Şişli
- Notes
- Turkey's first "Smart-and-Green" certified hospital; includes gynecologic surgeons such as Prof. Cem İyibozkurt, known for minimally invasive/robotic surgery and endometriosis treatment.
Memorial ŞIşli Hospital – Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic
- Type
- Large private hospital with a dedicated OB-GYN/IVF unit
- Neighborhood
- Şişli
- Notes
- High-volume international patient department; roughly 3,000 patients from 90 countries visit annually for IVF, alongside general gynecology and gynecologic oncology care.
Dr. İLker Kahramanoğlu
- Type
- Private practice — gynecologic oncology and general OB-GYN
- Neighborhood
- Nişantaşı / Şişli (Lotus Nişantaşı medical building)
- Notes
- Double board-certified gynecologist and gynecologic oncologist with over 15 years of experience, specializing in minimally invasive and surgical cancer treatment (fibroids, endometriosis, cervical/ovarian/endometrial conditions).
Prof. Dr. Nilgün Turhan
- Type
- Private OB-GYN practice
- Neighborhood
- Levent / Beşiktaş
- Notes
- General obstetrics and gynecology consultations; frequently cited by international patients for a warm, communicative bedside manner.
Mitera Clinic (Op. Dr. Nevra Topal İSmail Oğlu)
- Type
- Boutique private OB-GYN practice, English-speaking
- Neighborhood
- Şişli Square
- Notes
- A female, English-speaking gynecologist offering a boutique, patient-centered clinic; the practice explicitly lists general gynecologic care and abortion among its services, and is positioned centrally near Taksim/Nişantaşı.
Hotlines
Alo 183 – Family, Women, Children and Disabled Social Support Line
- Number
- 183
- Languages
- Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, Sign Language
- Availability
- 24/7
- Notes
- Nationwide government-run hotline intended to provide immediate help to victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse, operated by Turkey's Ministry of Family and Social Services.
ŞÖNİM Istanbul (Violence Prevention and Monitoring Center)
- Number
- 0212 465 21 96 / 97
- Notes
- Provincial center coordinating shelter referrals, legal and psychological support for violence victims in Istanbul.
YIMER (Foreigners Communication Center)
- Number
- 157
- Languages
- Turkish, English, Arabic, Russian, Farsi
- Availability
- 24/7
- Notes
- Government line aimed at foreign residents/visitors needing information or help, including on violence and protection matters.
Istanbul Tourist Police
- Number
- 90-505-187-6614
- Notes
- Contact point for tourists reporting crimes, including assault, while in Istanbul.
Domestic Violence Hotline (Referenced by U.S. Embassy Resource List)
- Number
- 90-212-656-9696 / 90-549-656-9696
- Notes
- Listed by the U.S. Embassy Türkiye as a domestic violence hotline resource; not independently vetted by the embassy.
Shelters And Support Organizations
Purple Roof Women's Shelter Foundation (Mor Çatı)
- Location
- Istanbul
- Services
- Shelter, and connections to psychological/legal support for domestic and sexual violence victims.
Violence Prevention and Monitoring Centers (ŞÖNİM)
- Services
- Operate in all 81 Turkish provinces, including Istanbul, offering legal, medical, and psychological support to violence victims, though capacity and staffing vary.
Contraception And Emergency Contraception Access
- Overview
- Contraception, including emergency contraception, is legal and available without a prescription in Turkey; the 1983 Law on Population Planning legalized and regulated access to contraception nationwide.
- Regulatory Status
- Fully legal and regulated
- 24 Hour Pharmacy Note
- By law, at least one pharmacy ('nöbetçi eczane') in any given area of Istanbul must remain open at all times, so contraception (including emergency contraception) can generally be obtained at any hour.
Birth Control Pill
- Availability
- Widely available at pharmacies (eczane) in Istanbul; a limited number of brands are stocked (e.g. Yasmin, Yazz, Yaz, and generics), so a specific brand may need to be requested or ordered in.
- Prescription Required
- No
- Estimated Price Per Month Pack
- TRY 400
Emergency Contraception
- Availability
- Available at most Istanbul pharmacies without a prescription or age check, though it is typically kept behind the counter rather than on open shelves — ask by the phrase 'acil kontrasepsiyon' or a brand name like Ella or NorLevo. Not every single pharmacy stocks it, so it may take asking at more than one.
- Age Restriction
- None
- Estimated Price
- TRY 700
- Types Available
- Both levonorgestrel (LNG, e.g. NorLevo) and ulipristal acetate (UPA, e.g. ellaOne/Ella) forms circulate in Turkish pharmacies, though UPA is formally a prescription-only product even though it can often be purchased without one in practice.
- Prescription Required
- No
- Effectiveness Note
- Most effective the sooner it is taken after unprotected sex; some LNG regimens are usable up to 72-120 hours after, depending on product.
Hormonal IUD Or Implant
- Availability
- Hormonal IUDs (e.g. Mirena) and the copper IUD are available in Istanbul through a gynecologist visit; insertion requires a clinical appointment. Contraceptive implants are less commonly discussed in available consumer sources and may be harder to find than IUDs.
- Prescription Required
- Yes
- Estimated Price Including Insertion
- TRY 9,000
Emergency Number
- Number
- 112
- Description
- General police/ambulance/fire emergency line for Turkey, including Istanbul.
Legal Context Note
Turkey withdrew from the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women in March 2021, a move that drew criticism from international rights groups, though domestic protections (including Law No. 6284) remain formally in place.
Reporting And Forensic Exam Process
- Steps
- Call or go to the nearest police station (112) to file a report; Bureaus of Combating Domestic Violence and Violence against Women exist under district police directorates, and forensic sexual assault exams are authorized through the Office of the Public Prosecutor.
- Evidence Note
- Guidance for the region generally recommends seeking help and preserving evidence within about 72 hours of an assault, despite the difficulty of doing so amid trauma.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this women's health & safety research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Istanbul
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.