Written by Daria Aron
In recent years, all over the world, the right to abortion has been debated. In some countries, abortion was finally legalised, such as in Ireland, and in others, the right was restricted, such as in the United States. The problem is, however, that legality is not everything. What happens when abortion is legal, and yet it is not accessible? This is a problem which Romania is dealing with right now.
Romania and abortion: A difficult history
During the communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the dictator wanted to raise the country’s population levels dramatically. According to him, the most efficient way of doing this was to outlaw all access to abortions and contraception through the passing of Decree 770. In practice, this meant that doctors would be fined and arrested if they did provide access to either of these measures and so would anyone else who was found to be helping in this effort. While there was some ‘success’ in raising the birthrate, there were also massive failures. As noted by Oberman, banning abortions does not stop them, and as a result, tens of thousands of women died having unsafe abortions. Maternal mortality also skyrocketed as conditions under which an abortion would be warranted due to congenital defects and complications were not provided due to the fear of fines and arrests.
Among the many other failures of this decree was the abandonment rate of children. By the fall of the regime, an approximated 170,000 children had been placed in state-run orphanages. These orphanages were underfunded, and the children placed in them experienced abuse and horrible living situations without any regard for their social or psychological development. The institutions dedicated to children with behavioural or mental issues were even worse. The culture around these orphanages was also an interesting contrast to other countries. Children were not abandoned purely because they were unwanted, but because of the decree, families were having so many children that they could no longer take care of them. As a result, it was common practice for parents to visit their children in the orphanages. Unfortunately, even though the communist regime fell in 1989, the orphanages operated similarly into the 2000s.
Romania’s “Abortion Culture”
After the fall of the regime, abortion and contraception were immediately legalised, and abortion rates skyrocketed. During the first 20 years of its newly implemented democratic regime, Romania had the highest rate of abortions in Europe, many attributing this to the country’s abortion culture. But what is this culture? I would argue that this culture has two main reasons: trauma and lack of education.
Due to the number of women who died having abortions and the trauma of those who succeeded in getting abortions during the regime, there is a strong culture around supporting abortions. In the generations born since then, there are many people who no longer have mothers or sisters and who grew up with that trauma. Furthermore, the children who were born due to the lack of abortion or contraception access have been titled ‘the children of the decree’ (decreței in Romanian) and were also subject to taunting and psychological trauma, inflated for those placed in orphanages. The generational trauma caused by this decree has embedded the right to abortion into Romanian culture, for now.
Second, while abortion and contraception are accepted despite the strong influence of the Orthodox church, the church has been able to alter other essential things, such as sexual education. Even until now, no form of sexual education exists in schools as part of a national curriculum, however, religious education does have a sacred place in the schools. The government’s stance is that parents should teach their children such information, but those parents did not have this education either. In this game of blind following the blind, Romania also has the highest rate of teenage births.
Abortion Now
Abortion is legal up until the 14th week, with special permissions after that point. On paper, nothing should be stopping women in Romania from having abortions; however, in reality, that is not the case. In the past decade, access to abortion has plummeted. Even though, by law, the state has to provide services for the interruption of a pregnancy, access to abortion in state institutions is very limited, with it being not present in rural areas. The biggest reason for this has been attributed to a cut in funding, but also doctors’ use of the conscience clause, which allows them to refuse abortion to a patient.
As a result of these two reasons, 60% of public health units in the country do not offer any abortive services. During the pandemic, the Ministry of Health even ruled that abortions are not essential procedures and should not be prioritised. Within the country, there are several provinces which fail to provide any access to abortive services. A phenomenon that has been reported is the link between doctors’ use of the conscience clause and later referral to their private practices. This way, doctors receive more money for performing the same procedure and, more directly, without having to wait for the government payment. The difference for the patient is significant as well, having to pay from roughly 100€ (as the public health scheme does not cover abortions) to over 1000€. Meanwhile, the median income in Romania is 900€ thus constituting a significant financial expense, which many women cannot afford.
While there has been a growing awareness of the current state of abortion accessibility, it has not gained enough traction at the higher echelons of power. The President of the Romanian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology said in an interview with The Wire, “I think abortion is quite accessible in Romania, but of course, some gynaecologists refuse to perform abortions. But I do not think it is extremely widespread and changes the [lives] of many women.” As with many other issues in the country, many individuals in positions of power have limited to no knowledge of the issues affecting the citizens of their own country, and this will continue to hurt any effort of the press and civic society in trying to draw attention and merit to the issue. Moreover, with the growing influence of the Orthodox Church in some circles and the increasing support for (extreme) right-wing parties, access to abortion may also become legally restricted very soon. This fear is not unfounded – fellow EU member Poland had a similar progression, where the conservative party rooted its anti-abortion actions in the support received from the Catholic Church. With this, the party was able to pass one of the most strict abortion laws in Europe.
Romania has had a long and sad journey with abortion, from illegality to traumatic legality. Although many hoped this journey would end with more access and more awareness around the issue, the future of access to abortion in the country is wary. With Romania having elections at all levels this year, it is worth seeing whether the chosen representatives influence the existing situation for the better or the worse.
Edited by Joanna Sowińska, Illustrated by Aneri Patel