Almost 20 million women in Europe do not have the right to a safe abortion. In Serbia, approximately 10.000 such procedures are officially performed annually, and the intentional termination of pregnancy is most often performed in the population aged 35 to 44.
"My Voice, My Choice" activist Thea Dautzenberg told FoNet that almost 20 million women in Europe do not have the right to a safe abortion, which is why a petition was launched to allow European Union (EU) citizens to have an abortion for free in another member state , if they cannot do it in their home country.
She specified in the interview series "Stigma" that the initiative was launched in Slovenia, where it was done by the organization "Institute March 8", and that then, with the aim of collecting one million signatures, actions were started in other member states. If those signatures are submitted to the European institutions, the European Parliament, and the petition is voted, explains Dautzenberg, citizens of Poland or Malta, where abortion is illegal, could have a safe abortion free of charge and legally in one of the EU member states where it is allowed.
As she pointed out, in that case the procedure will be financed with European money, that is, the states that agree to it will receive money from EU funds.
Unacceptable condition
It is unacceptable that women bear the financial burden, because abortion is not free. It is unacceptable that women are forced to travel thousands of kilometers or look for dangerous alternatives, because gynecologists do not want to perform abortions due to conscientious objection, is the rationale of the "My Voice, My Choice" initiative.
Dautzenberg said that in order to decide on that initiative, it is necessary for seven EU member states to participate with a certain number of signatures, which is proportional to the number of inhabitants, and emphasized that half a million signatures have been collected so far since April. It is going well in Slovenia, the same in Croatia, especially when the singer Severina joined it, she emphasized and added that the action is also going well in Germany and France, but less so in Belgium.
According to her, the plan was to collect the signatures before the European elections on June 9, but unfortunately that did not happen. It will be a little later, Dautzenberg is convinced.
Is abortion paid in Serbia?
In Serbia, the procedure for abortion is regulated by the Law on Termination of Pregnancy in Health Institutions. According to this law, every gynecological clinic in Serbia is obliged to provide the service of intentional termination of pregnancy, that is, at the personal request of the woman, if she has not passed the tenth gestational week.
This procedure is not covered by health insurance, unless the pregnancy is terminated due to a justified health problem.
In state health institutions, patients pay from 15.000 to 17.000 dinars for this intervention, depending on additional examinations, and more than 300 euros in private ones.
To all of this, we should add the costs of recovery, after this intervention, women are generally prescribed antibiotics, vitamins and other drugs according to the doctor's recommendation.
Abortion statistics
Despite the large selection of contraceptives, more than 10.000 abortions are officially performed annually in state institutions in Serbia.
"According to the published data in the Health and Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Serbia for 2022, a total of 11.306 terminations of pregnancy were registered, of which 8.090 were medical abortions, 891 were spontaneous terminations of pregnancy, while 160 were terminations of pregnancy for other reasons," the Institute for public health "Dr. Milan Jovanović Batut".
Despite the established opinion that young girls most often decide to have an abortion, statistics show that this is not the case. Batut says that in Serbia in 2022, only one case of termination of pregnancy was registered in a woman under the age of 15, while in the group of women over the age of 55, one abortion was also recorded.
In the age group of women from 35 to 44 years, 4.276 abortions were performed.
"This is the age group in which the highest number of abortions is recorded. In this group of women, 483 (11,30 percent) are married, and 956 (22,36 percent) are of unknown marital status. The largest number of pregnancy terminations took place up to the tenth week of the fetus's age, a total of 4.043", according to Batut.
SPC against "infanticide"
Although abortion is a legal procedure in Serbia, this is still a controversial issue in society. The negative attitude towards abortion was repeatedly expressed by the Serbian Orthodox Church, which on several occasions sent a message about the prohibition of abortion.
After the Parliament in 2013, the Church announced that the birth rate in Serbia is declining due to "infanticide", which, as stated in the announcement, testifies to a deep moral decline, a serious family crisis and "a lack of true faith in God among many". The solution, according to the parliamentary fathers, lies in the prohibition of intentional abortion, unless it is performed for medical reasons.
The then Minister of Health Slavica Đukić Dejanović reacted to this announcement by the Serbian Orthodox Church, pointing out that the issue of abortion is regulated by law:
"The Serbian Orthodox Church, which I respect more than anything, has the right to its views, but the profession, the European and world standards we strive for and the mood of the citizens determine how we will legislatively regulate each area, including termination of pregnancy."
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