Turkey Penalizes Over 100 Doctors With Fines and Suspensions for Performing C-Sections

Turkey’s Ministry of Health has penalized more than 100 obstetricians and gynecologists for performing Caesarean section deliveries, signaling an aggressive escalation in the government’s campaign to enforce natural childbirth.

The state-enforced sanctions include heavy fines, formal warnings, and disciplinary investigations. In severe cases, physicians have been dismissed from their positions, temporarily suspended from practicing for up to six months, and mandated to undergo compulsory antenatal training and examination before their medical licenses can be reinstated.

The clampdown is part of a broader initiative championed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to address falling birthrates and curb elective medical interventions. Under the administration’s policy directives, elective C-sections without explicit medical justification were officially banned at private healthcare facilities. Government data highlights that Turkey maintains the highest rate of surgical births among the 38 OECD nations, with approximately 615 C-sections recorded per 1,000 live births.

The punitive measures have triggered a sharp backlash from medical associations and healthcare professionals across the country. Medical experts argue that penalizing front-line doctors fails to address the deep-rooted, structural issues within the national healthcare system.

According to regional medical chambers and professionals, C-sections are frequently utilized because they drastically minimize delivery times and lower the risk of complex legal liabilities for both physicians and patients. Critics warn that treating a systemic healthcare trend with administrative penalties undermines medical autonomy and fails to resolve the underlying challenges driving the high rate of surgical deliveries.