Abortion in Romania is legal during the first 14 weeks of the pregnancy.[1] Abortions during later stages of pregnancy are legal only when the woman's life is at risk.[2][3] In the year 2004, there were 216,261 live births and 191,000 reported abortions,[4] meaning that 46% of the 407,261 pregnancies that year ended in abortion.
[edit] During the communist regime
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 Decree 770[5] 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.[5]
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 decrees altered the minimum age for legal abortion.[5] 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 mental and physical damage due to the risky pregnancies and failed illegal abortions.[6]
This policy was reversed in 1989, after the Romanian Revolution, and, since that time, abortion has been legal in Romania.
[edit] Abortions in Romania after 1989[7]
| Year |
Abortions |
Per 1000 women |
Per 1000 live-births |
| 1990 |
992,265 |
177.6 |
3,158.4 |
| 1991 |
866,934 |
153.8 |
3,156.6 |
| 1992 |
691,863 |
124.2 |
2,663.0 |
| 1993 |
585,761 |
104.0 |
2,348.4 |
| 1994 |
530,191 |
93.2 |
2,153.5 |
| 1995 |
502,840 |
87.5 |
2,129.5 |
| 1996 |
455,340 |
78.6 |
1,971.9 |
| 1997 |
346,468 |
59.5 |
1,465.6 |
| 1998 |
270,930 |
46.5 |
1,144.0 |
| 1999 |
259,266 |
44.6 |
1,107.5 |
| 2000 |
257,267 |
44.3 |
1,099.5 |
| 2001 |
253,426 |
43.6 |
1,153.3 |
| 2002 |
246,714 |
44.0 |
1,174.9 |
| 2003 |
223,914 |
39.9 |
1,056.5 |
| 2004 |
189,683 |
33.8 |
879.5 |
| 2005 |
162,087 |
29.0 |
735.1 |
| 2006 |
149,598 |
27.0 |
683.5 |
| 2007 |
136,647 |
24.8 |
638.1 |
| 2008 |
127,410 |
23.5 |
578.3 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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