Birth control against Slovak Roma

The Slovak Ministry of Social Security plans to offer poor Slovakian women the pill for free or to cover the costs of their being sterilised. The liberal daily Sme warns of the dangers of the measure, which is basically aimed at reducing the high birth rate among the Roma minority: "The whole affair has an unpleasant taste to it and what's more, in our country an ethnic backdrop because whether we say it openly or not we're talking about the Roma here.  We must be cautious, and not just because of the danger of an international scandal. We already have our experiences with forced sterilisation in socialist times. Roma are suing in international courts because of this even today. A state initiative like this can only work if it does not attempt to put any pressure on women. The Slovak government must be aware that it is treading on very thin ice here. ... It would be better to do more to raise awareness among women, which could also be a task for the Church."

» more information (external link, Slovak)
More from the press review on the subject » Minorities, » Health and Medicine, » Demographics, » Ethics, » Slovakia
All available articles from » Peter Morvay

» To the complete press review of Tuesday, August 16, 2011