- Title: Hungarian women dismayed at 'tormenting' abortion reform
- Date: 15th September 2022
- Summary: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (SEPTEMBER 15, 2022) (REUTERS) PLASTIC FIGURE OF TEN-WEEK-OLD FOETUS HELD BY DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF OPPOSITION 'OUR HOMELAND' PARTY, DORA DURO (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF OPPOSITION 'OUR HOMELAND' PARTY, DORA DURO, SAYING: "I have brought this baby as an illustration of who a 10-week-old child is, and by then it has hands, legs, it can suck its fingers, and the heart is beating which best shows that it is a living creature." FOETUS FIGURE IN DURO’S HAND (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF OPPOSITION 'OUR HOMELAND' PARTY, DORA DURO, SAYING: "It is not a tightening of the rule but simply providing information. And it is very important to stress that those legal points that allow a mother to choose an abortion remain, so nothing was taken out of the law, it is simply a procedural amendment. This is necessary because every fifth child conceived in Hungary still falls victim to an abortion and that is an exceedingly high number." HAND OF STATUE, PEOPLE WALKING BY PEOPLE WALKING BY STATUE OF WOMAN VARIOUS OF SPOKESPERSON OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS GROUP 'PATENT' JULIA SPRONZ WALKING ON STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) SPOKESPERSON OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS GROUP 'PATENT', JULIA SPRONZ, SAYING: "We think that this is definitely a tightening measure which will not actually achieve the goal it sets. As we know well, making access to abortions more difficult will not lead to a decline in the number of abortions. But it will make it more difficult for women to process it emotionally. It is an additional psychological burden, it is an extra pressure which is unnecessary." SPRONZ TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) SPOKESPERSON OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS GROUP 'PATENT', JULIA SPRONZ, SAYING: "They have made it clear that they are against abortion, but because the Hungarian society is not yet ready, they will not turn to such radical tools as in Poland, for example, but rather do it slowly via sneakily making things more difficult, they will gradually make more obstacles to abortion." PEOPLE WALKING ON SQUARE NEAR PARLIAMENT CITY SKYLINE WITH CHURCH TOWERS BOATS ON DANUBE RIVER
- Embargoed: 29th September 2022 15:10
- Keywords: Abortion law Hungarian law Hungary far-right groups in Hungary women's rights
- Location: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
- City: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
- Country: Hungary
- Topics: Europe,Lawmaking,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA003560515092022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hungarian women voiced dismay as an amendment to abortion rules took effect on Thursday (September 15), in what some see as the first step towards a tightening of access to the procedure under a deeply conservative government.
Interior Minister Sandor Pinter submitted an amendment to abortion rules this week, requiring pregnant women to submit evidence they have acknowledged from their healthcare provider of a definitive sign of life, widely interpreted as the heartbeat of a foetus, before requesting the procedure. The government gave no reason for the abortion amendment.
"I think this will not change the mind of someone who has already decided to opt for an abortion, so this is completely unnecessary and will only torment women," mother Borbala Jonas said at a playground in central Budapest amid the cheerful jostle of children around her.
Current rules allow Hungarian women to request an abortion in cases of rape, risks to the mother's health from the pregnancy, a severe disability of the unborn child, or in case of a serious personal crisis.
Last year the number of abortions fell to about 22,000 in Hungary from over 90,000 in 1990 based on official statistics. However, some women interviewed by Reuters were skeptical that the amendment could further dent the demand for abortions.
"That's my biggest fear that they are taking away our rights step by step, bit by bit," said Nora Bakacs, a Budapest mother. "I do believe that it is a first step, and it is going to go from here, to the most extreme."
"This is a step back, going back to ancient times, what is this even? I cannot imagine how people can just decide on this, it is absurd," local resident and mother Gabriella Enyedi added.
Right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban was easily re-elected in April, but faces his toughest term in power since a 2010 landslide victory with the forint skirting all-time lows, energy costs surging and European Union funds in limbo amid a row over backsliding from democratic standards.
Some political analysts have said it could be aimed at mobilising more conservative voters for Fidesz in politically challenging times by clipping the wings of the far-right Our Homeland party, which won seats in parliament for the first time in April and originally campaigned for the changes.
Dora Duro, a lawmaker for right-wing Our Homeland, said that even after the decline in abortions seen over the past decades, there were still what she said was "too many" in the central European country.
"This is necessary because every fifth child conceived in Hungary still falls victim to an abortion and that is an exceedingly high number," Duro said.
"This is a procedural change," said the mother of four, holding up a plastic replica of a 10-week-old foetus.
The Hungarian Medical Chamber too spoke about largely procedural changes that, according to the association, do not go against its ethical code founded on the protection of life.
Women's rights group Patent said the changes would not curb demand for abortions but could foreshadow a possible future tightening in abortion laws.
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