Special to WorldTribune.com

Moroccan King Mohammed has decided to loosen the nation’s strict abortion laws.

Mohammed’s decision will allow abortion in cases of rape, incest, danger to the mother’s health and fetal deformities.

With the exception of Tunisia, where abortion is legal, the procedure is highly restricted in North Africa.

The decision came after the king consulted with his ministers of justice and religious affairs and Morocco’s state civil rights organization.

“Their consultations showed that a vast majority of society is for the criminalization of abortion with the exception of a few cases that would have negative medical, psychological and social repercussions on the woman, fetus, family and society,” said a royal statement, the Associated Press reported.

Pregnancies for unmarried women are considered a disgrace to a woman and her family in Morocco, where it is estimated that 600-800 illegal abortions are performed on a daily basis.

Earlier this year, King Mohammed formed a committee to study the possibility of easing restrictions on abortion after Dr. Chafik Chraibi, head of obstetrics at Rabat Maternity Hospital, was fired for criticizing the policy that he said led to hundreds of unsafe, illegal abortions per day. Chraibi was later reinstated.