In Romania, Hard-Won Abortion Rights Are Being Systematically Undermined
In 1989, Romania finally dropped its infamous policy banning all forms of birth control. But today, many women are finding it impossible to get an abortion, faced with a systematic right-wing assault against reproductive rights.
Romanian women show support with Polish women on strike against a proposed near-total abortion ban in Poland in Bucharest, 2016. (Daniel Mihailescu / AFP via Getty Images)
“Is this your first abortion?” asked the woman on the phone.
“Yes,” Kai answered. It was fall 2021, and Kai, a twenty-one-year-old veterinary student in Bucharest was calling a clinic to inquire about obtaining an abortion. She was one month pregnant, after being raped.
“Well, then we can’t see you,” said the woman from the clinic. “We had a girl come in for an abortion and she ended up dying,” she explained. Shocked, Kai hung up. The woman then sent Kai video after video over WhatsApp about how abortion was dangerous and wrong.
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