Callous abuse of women in Croatia

Mirela Cavajda, a 39-year-old pregnant woman who requested abortion in the 26th week of pregnancy after the foetus was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, had her request rejected by three hospitals in Zagreb.

 Abortion in Croatia is legal until 10 weeks following conception, and afterwards in specific circumstances, including cases in which the mother’s life is in danger, the child is likely to be born with serious defects, or when conception was the result of a criminal act. 

 However, medical staff in Croatia have the right to conscientious objection, which means that abortion is hard to obtain in some hospitals in the country. 

The Association for the Promotion of Patients’ Rights requested the Health Ministry to immediately send hospitals protocols for all cases related to abortion, saying that everyone interprets the law in their way. The minister’s statement that hospitals must do something although there are no protocols is scandalous, and sending women to Slovenia to abort at their own expense is unacceptable, the association said. 

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