Slovakia's abortion laws declared constitutional

Slovakia's constitutional court has upheld abortion legislation which originated in socialist times allowing women to have an abortion up to the twelfth week of pregnancy. At the same time it has shortened the deadline for abortions owing to possible genetic defects in the unborn child from 24 weeks to 12 weeks. Zora Bútorová and Jarmila Filadelfiová welcome the ruling: "Demographic studies show that the number of abortions has gone down by more than 70 percent - without tightening the laws. ... There is continued consensus on three conditions under which an abortion should be permitted: when the health of the mother is endangered, when there is serious damage to the unborn or when a pregnancy is the result of rape. The rapid decrease in the number of abortions shows that since 1989 the sense of responsibility of both women and men on this issue has increased considerably."

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