Thousands of Hungarians demonstrated on the evening of Wednesday, September 28 in Budapest against a recent decree requiring pregnant women to be confronted with the "
vital functions
" of the fetus before having an abortion, AFP journalists noted.
The crowd of around 3,000 people, mostly women, gathered in front of Parliament to defend "
the fundamental right to decide whether or not to have a child
", argues Monika Karvaly, 43-year-old secretary.
"
And if the circumstances are different (violence, abuse...), don't hold us responsible, don't punish us!
“, she gets carried away.
Read alsoAre abortion practices changing in France?
Kléo Nyitrai, a 28-year-old biologist, says she "
wants children
" but when she chooses.
“
Everything is so uncertain with the war, the inflation, the energy crisis,
” she underlines.
Since mid-September, women wishing to have an abortion will have to listen to the fetal heart rate, according to the new terms of the form filled out by the obstetrician before the intervention.
A measure denounced on the signs held up on Wednesday: “
And the beat of my heart?
Doesn't anyone care?!
“, “
Take care of your own uterus
” or “
My vagina, my decision
”.
In this Central European country, a member of the European Union (EU), abortion has been legal since the 1950s until the twelfth week of pregnancy in most cases.
But the ultra-conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in power since 2010, is increasing pro-natalist measures.
Read alsoStrengthened by the result of the Italian elections, Viktor Orban hopes to get back in the saddle
Since the entry into force at the beginning of 2012 of a new Constitution, Hungary has thus defended “
the life of the fetus from conception
”.
When the new decree was announced, the NGO Amnesty International denounced a "
worrying setback
", which will make "
more difficult access to abortion
" and "
traumatize more women already in difficult situations
".