The Serbian Orthodox Church demands a ban on abortion

June 06, 08:15

Would the ban reduce the number of abortions, or would there only be an increase in criminal abortions and "abortion tourism" - trips to another country for abortions?

The Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church supported the initiative of religious doctors that the state ban abortion, except in cases where it is performed for medical reasons. This decision was made at the regular session held from May 21 to June 3 in Belgrade and Niš.

In the announcement of the Serbian Orthodox Church, it is stated that because of infanticide, the population of Serbia decreases by one medium-sized city every year, which testifies to a deep moral decline, to a severe family crisis and to the lack of true faith in God among many, although the majority of people in our nation declare themselves to be believers. and they are believers, at least in the elementary sense of the word.

According to the data of the World Health Organization, our country is the first in terms of the number of abortions in Europe, but also the Republic of Serbia is in the last place in Europe in terms of the number of users of contraceptive pills and hormonal spirals. It is impossible to determine the exact number because, in addition to state and private clinics, abortions are also performed illegally. Therefore, its ban would not reduce the frequency. The large number of abortions in Serbia is an obvious problem, but this is primarily because there is no sex education in Serbia, and citizens know little about contraceptives, Filip Lazić from the Institute for Law and Finance told Vreme.

"This position of the SPC is extremely conservative, unarguable, but also expected, given that all religious communities are against abortion." Such an attitude, in my opinion, is a curtain for the SPC's unwillingness to confront the numerous scandals that have been taking place in it lately. "Serbia belongs to the liberal countries as far as the regulation of abortion is concerned," explains Lazić.

As part of the corpus of reproductive rights and freedoms and a means of realizing the right not to give birth, the right to abortion is in agreement with the right of a woman to dispose of her body and the right of a woman and her partner to plan a family.

However, at the same time, this right comes into conflict with the embryo's right to life.

The European Convention on Human Rights stipulates the right to private and family life.

In the Republic of Serbia, abortion is legal and permitted, and it is regulated in detail by the Law on Termination of Pregnancy in Health Institutions. A legal ban on abortion would violate the constitutional right that everyone has the right to freely decide on having children, so any ban on abortion would be unconstitutional.

"Adopting such a decision is absolutely unrealistic." I don't think such an idea could gain wider support. Banning abortions alone would not reduce their number, it would only lead to an increase in criminal abortions and "abortion tourism" - trips to another country for abortions," concludes Filip Lazić.

Abortion laws: between liberalization and restriction

The right not to give birth, the right to abortion is in agreement with the right of a woman to dispose of her body and the right of a woman and her partner to plan a family, however, at the same time this right comes into conflict with the right of the fetus (embryo) to life.

International documents that guarantee the right to life do not contain a definition of human life, that is, its beginning.

Abortion was forbidden and rigorously punished for a long time. For the first time, abortion was discussed in French aristocratic circles at the end of the 17th century, when ideas arose about a new right - the right to give or not to give life.
The twentieth century brought the liberalization of laws and the general acceptance of abortion on one's own request.

Historically speaking, official political positions have ranged from a complete ban on abortion, over allowing it in the form of few exceptions related to saving a woman's life, to more liberal permitting of abortion for health and social reasons.

In most countries in the European Union, abortion is allowed in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Malta is the only European country that prohibits abortion in all cases, with no exception for situations in which the woman's life is in danger.

In Italy, abortion is legal, but in the last few years, it has become less and less accessible, due to the increase in the number of complaints from doctors and nurses, so many women are forced to go abroad for expensive abortions, or to resort to clandestine abortions in unauthorized clinics. .

In Ireland, abortion is illegal except in cases where the woman's life is threatened by continuing the pregnancy, which is also the practice in Andorra.

With the exception of Poland, former communist countries have liberal abortion laws.

Most European countries have laws that stipulate that underage girls must have parental consent, that is, their parents must be informed about abortion.

In most of these countries, however, this rule can be waived if there is an assessment that the girl is at risk if her parents find out about the pregnancy, or if it is otherwise in her best interest not to inform her parents.

Restrictive policy regarding abortion is still dominant in many countries of the world. This includes most developing countries, most Muslim countries in Asia, almost half of African countries, two thirds of Latin American countries

DOCUMENT: Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church against infanticide

Due to infanticide, the population of Serbia decreases every year by one medium-sized city, which testifies to a deep moral decline, to a serious crisis in the family and to the lack of true faith in God among many, although the majority of people in our nation declare themselves to be believers and are believers, at least in an elementary sense. meaning of that word.

The Parliament therefore supported the initiative of religious doctors that the state ban abortion, except in cases where it is performed for medical reasons. The Parliament appeals to the conscience of parents, educators, state officials and all those who can influence the state of society to do everything they can so that among us, despite material scarcity, the celebration of life as God's greatest gift becomes an alternative to the unconscious cult of death that has gained momentum in modern society. western civilization.

At the same time, the Parliament recommends to all dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church and their regional church units to establish funds to support families with several children, to preventively, pastorally and therapeutically, prevent the scourge of immorality, drug addiction, pornography and all other pathogenic phenomena that fundamentally threaten the being, soul and the future of the Serbian people and all Christian peoples, exposed to the harmful influence of secularism, consumer mentality, hedonism, individualism, pseudo-religiosity without the concept of a personal God, false Christianity without Christ as a God-man and without the Church as a God-man community, as well as various ideologies of meaninglessness and hopelessness. The Assembly, for its part, invites everyone to live and act through faith, hope and love, because - God is love.

Press release of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the regular session held in Belgrade and Niš from May 21 to June 3, 2013.