DUBAI // A 27-year-old woman charged with having an illegal and nearly fatal abortion was abandoned by her husband, leaving her with financial burdens and pregnant, a Dubai court was told.
The woman, identified as ER, who is from the Philippines, works as a saleswoman and arrived in the country two years ago to join her husband, who had been in the UAE for three years.
She told prosecutors she could not afford to have another child, because her salary was low and she was already supporting two children in the Philippines.
According to court papers, ER was advised by friends to consult an Indian woman who offered abortion services.
On December 1 last year, prosecutors said she went to the Al Jafiliya villa where the woman worked. The woman, who was not identified in the court records, operated on ER for about 30 minutes. The procedure caused severe bleeding, and a plastic tool was left inside ER's uterus.
ER told prosecutors the woman instructed her to take painkillers, but the medication did not stop the bleeding nor help the pain, she said.
Around midnight on the evening of the operation, ER said she called her sister, MR, who took her to the Iranian Hospital, where she underwent a procedure to remove the foreign object from her uterus. She remained in the hospital until the next day, according to court records.
ER told prosecutors that she had been married for eight years. She said she was distraught when her husband abandoned her and left the country in October, one month after she became pregnant.
Records show that ER was worried that she would not be able to register the baby without the father's presence or without copies of the father's official documents. She presented a copy of her marriage certificate to the court.
The court will issue a verdict on February 28.
[ salamir@thenational.ae ]
