Progress Amid Resistance

JORDAN 217Women working in the private sector may also extend their coverage totheir children if they are not already covered by the husband’s insurance,although benefits for private-sector workers vary in practice. The prevailingfemale dependence on a husband’s financial support and health insurancemeans that medical expenses are a particular problem for divorcedand widowed women. 32Under legislation covering family planning matters (Law No. 5 of2004), a woman is not required to inform her husband or obtain his ap -proval concerning her choice of contraception. However, contraceptiveservice providers seek the husband’s approval in practice, and a husband’swritten consent is needed before a wife may undergo tubal ligation. 33 Fortytwopercent of women were using contraceptives in 2007, while 40 percentdiscontinued the use of contraceptives after one year. Consequently,approximately 30 percent had unplanned pregnancies. 34Abortion is illegal in Jordan except in special circumstances to preservethe life or health of the mother. 35 Article 321 of the penal code prescribespenalties of six months to three years in prison for women who performabortions on themselves, and Article 322 assigns one to three years inprison to those who perform abortions on others, including doctors. Ifan abortion leads to the death of the mother, the culprit faces a minimumsentence of five years in prison. Under Article 323, those who performan abortion on a woman against her will can be sentenced to a maximumof 10 years in prison, or a minimum of 10 years if the woman dies.Article 324 provides for reduced sentences—ranging from three months totwo years—if a woman performs her own abortion to protect her family’shonor, or if the individual carrying out the abortion does so to protect thehonor of a female relative.The government is currently promoting family planning in an effortto reduce the fertility rate, which stood at 3.6 children per woman in2007. 36 A survey released in July 2008 indicated that 94 percent of marriedwomen and 90 percent of married men believe smaller families lead toa better quality of life. However, only 44 percent of married women and50 percent of married men practice family planning due to social pressuresthat include cultural preference for boys and the desire to have larger families.The survey also revealed that, regardless of educational background,married women continue to prefer to give birth to boys. The survey indicatedthat for uneducated women, the ideal number of boys would be 2.2,