“Anytime a woman comes for health services there are huge barriers.”
Song Ah Lee, Heather Barr
April 7, 2025
Romania has a deeply disturbing history of interfering with women’s reproductive rights. Behind the Iron Curtain, abortion as well as birth control was deeply restricted from 1966 until the government fell – with the USSR – in 1989. During this time, roughly 10,000 women and girls died after they were forced to resort to unsafe abortion; some experts believe the real figure is much higher.
Today, on paper at least, abortion in Romania is legal until the 14th week of pregnancy and in certain other cases. But in reality, it’s shockingly and increasingly hard for women to access health care services to end unwanted pregnancies. While government officials pay lip service to protecting women’s rights, behind the scenes they are often doing whatever they can to make abortion inaccessible, including partnering with “crisis pregnancy centers” that pressure women and girls to continue pregnancies, often through deceptive and other abusive means. A new Human Rights Watch report, “It’s Happening Even Without You Noticing”, documents this alarming trend. Human Rights Watch’s former researcher Song Ah speaks with Romanian midwife and activist Irina Mateescu about her work to defend the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and girls.
Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/04/07/interview-midwife-romania-abortion-care-access-slipping-away