More than 100 Turkish obstetricians and gynaecologists have been suspended or disciplined in a government drive to cut the country’s high rate of Caesarean-section births, a move that has sparked fierce criticism from medical professionals who say the government is interfering in clinical decision-making.
Turkish newspaper BirGün says that the disciplinary proceedings ranged from formal warnings to temporary suspensions from medical practice, required retraining and in some cases cash penalties. A doctor in the northwestern province of Sakarya was reportedly removed from a private hospital and banned from practicing for six months, and must complete training in a public hospital before being permitted to return to work.
The crackdown comes amid Turkey’s efforts to rein in what officials characterise as an over-reliance on Caesarean deliveries. The latest data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that Turkey ranked first among its 38 member nations in 2023 in terms of the number of Caesarean procedures, with around 615 C-sections per 1,000 live births, or around 61% of all births.
Under its “Decade of the Family” policy, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government has prioritised boosting Turkey’s falling birth rate. As part of that goal, officials adopted rules in 2025 banning scheduled Caesarean deliveries at select private medical institutions unless there was a demonstrated medical indication. Officials say unnecessary surgical births should be reduced in favour of what they call natural delivery.
The Turkish Medical Association and other health groups have reacted angrily to the disciplinary measures. Doctors say Turkey’s high prevalence of Caesareans is due to a host of structural reasons, including congested hospitals, busy workloads, long labour monitoring, fear of malpractice claims and patient preference. They said that decisions on how a woman gives birth should be made jointly by the patient and her physician on the basis of medical need, not government targets.
Medical experts also remark that Caesarean deliveries are generally speedier than vaginal births which may take many hours to complete, with the procedure itself lasting about 30 minutes. Some doctors think this fact, together with legal worries over problems in childbirth, has made the operation common in Turkey.
The administration’s move has sparked a wider debate over reproductive rights and government intervention in health care. Women’s rights advocates and opposition groups say decisions on childbirth should be left to women and their doctors, but supporters of the government’s policy say lowering the number of medically unnecessary Caesarean sections could improve maternal health and help tackle Turkey’s declining fertility rate.
As criticism has grown, health authorities have not indicated if further disciplinary action will be taken. The dispute is likely to continue to dominate public discourse as Turkey struggles with measures to meet demographic challenges with issues of medical autonomy, patient choice and professional independence.
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