Abortion in Romania

Abortion in Romania is legal during the first 14 weeks of the pregnancy. [ro icon [http://misterelestiintei.scienceline.ro/AVORTUL_IN_ROMANIA_5311_653_1.html "Avortul în România"] at scienceline.ro] Abortions during later stages of pregnancy are legal only when the mother's life is at risk. [ [http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL27716066 Romanian 11-year-old can legally abort pregnancy] : Reuters, published June 27, 2008] [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01E7DF143EF934A15755C0A96E9C8B63 Romania: 11-Year-Old Victim To Be Allowed Abortion] : The New York Times, published June 27, 2008] In the year 2004, there were 216,261 live births and 191,000 reported abortions, [ [http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/ab-romania.html Abortion statistics of Romania up to 2004] . Retrieved 2007-08-04.] meaning that 46% of the 407,261 pregnancies that year ended in abortion.

In 1957, the procedure was officially legalized in Romania, following which 80% of pregnancies ended in abortion, mainly due to the lack of effective contraception. In 1966 abortion was criminalized (except in exceptional cases) again, by the decree 770ro icon Scarlat, Sandra. [http://www.hotnews.ro/articol_22541-Decreteii-produsele-unei-epoci-care-a-imbolnavit-Romania.htm "'Decreţeii': produsele unei epoci care a îmbolnăvit România" ("'Scions of the Decree': Products of an Era that Sickened Romania")] , "Evenimentul Zilei", May 17, 2005.] under the rule of Nicolae Ceauşescu.The natalist policy was completed with mandatory gynecological revisions and penalizations for single women over 25 and married couples without children.The sudden effect of this policy was a transition from a birth rate of 14.3‰ in 1966 to 27.4‰ in 1967.Between 1972 and 1985, further degrees altered the minimum age for legal abortion.The children born in this period, especially between 1966 and 1972, are nicknamed the "decreţei" (singular "decreţel").They had to put up with crowded public services as the state was not ready for the sudden increase.The word "decreţei" has a negative nuance for the perceived psychical and physical damage due to the risky pregnancies and failed illegal abortions [http://www.123urban.ro/showTerm.htm?term=decre%C5%A3el decreţel] in the 123Urban dictionary.] .This policy was reversed in 1989, after the Romanian Revolution, and, since that time, abortion has been legal in Romania.

ee also

*Abortion by country
*"4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days", a Romanian film about a pregnant student looking for an illegal abortion under Ceauşescu.

References