(Zagreb) Thousands demonstrated in Zagreb on Thursday in favor of women’s right to health following the case of a Croatian woman who was only allowed to terminate her pregnancy due to a serious fetal illness, after a large protest outrage in the country.
Posted at 3:28 p.m.
The demonstration, organized under the slogan “Enough”, took place the day after the announcement by the Minister of Health, Vili Beros, that a “commission authorized the termination of pregnancy” of this woman Mirela Cavajda.
“We will force the health system to respect women,” Sanja Sarnavka, a women’s rights activist, told protesters.
These, gathered in the central square of Zagreb, reacted by proclaiming “Enough, enough! “.
Many carried pink banners that read “Enough of clericalism in gynecological clinics”, “Enough of refusing to provide a medical procedure”, “Enough of jeopardizing women’s health”.
The demonstration was organized in Zagreb and eight other cities in Croatia to show “solidarity with all women […] whose right to health, guaranteed by the laws in Croatia, is violated on a daily basis”, underlined the organizers.
In the EU member country, conservative groups, backed by the Catholic Church, are urging the government to limit the right to abortion, which is permitted up to the tenth week of pregnancy.
After this period, an abortion can be performed if the health of the woman or the fetus is in serious danger, or in the event of rape or incest.
But this right is increasingly being tested in Croatia as many doctors refuse to perform abortions citing conscientious objection, a right granted to them by a 2003 law.
Mirela Cavajda, mother of one, was in her sixth month of pregnancy when doctors diagnosed her fetus with a brain tumor in April.
Doctors at a Zagreb hospital told the 39-year-old woman that either the fetus would die or the child, if born, would have serious health problems, she told reporters. media. They suggested that he go to Slovenia for help.
Four hospitals in Zagreb refused her request to terminate the pregnancy.
But after an MRI, a medical commission concluded that the legal and medical conditions were met to perform an abortion.
In 2017, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by conservative church-backed groups calling for a ban on abortion.