In Hungary, pregnant women will need to listen to the heartbeat of the fetus if they decide to undergo an abortion process. The rule was enacted this Monday (12) by the Hungarian government and will come into force from Thursday (15).
Abortion was legalized in the European country in the 1950s and is allowed until the 12th week of pregnancy for medical or social reasons. In cases of fetal anomaly, the procedure can be performed at any time during pregnancy.
But, according to the British newspaper The Guardian, before undergoing abortion in Hungary, a woman must seek permission from a gynecologist and visit public facilities, where she is advised on adoption procedures.
The legislation passed on Monday was proposed by the far-right My Hazank party – an ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government – and signed by the country’s interior minister. “Almost two-thirds of Hungarians associate the beginning of a child’s life with the first heartbeat,” the folder announced.
Representative Dora Duro, affiliated with My Hazank, celebrated the enactment of the law. “For at least a few seconds, the mother will be able to hear the fetus before the abortion is performed,” she said.
Amnesty International, on the other hand, described the move as a “worrying setback”. According to the organization, the decision was taken without any public consultation and will make “access to abortion more difficult”, in addition to “further traumatizing women who are already in difficult situations”.
Legislation similar to this has been passed in some US states, such as Texas – where abortion is prohibited after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which happens around the sixth week of pregnancy.
According to doctors interviewed by the Guardian, however, the term “fetal heartbeat” is inaccurate. This is because the sound heard during the first ultrasounds is generated by the machine itself and does not reflect the fetal heartbeat.
In recent years, Orban has multiplied birth control measures, steering his political party, Fidesz, towards an increasingly conservative and religious vision. In 2012, for example, he managed to put in the new Constitution that the life of the fetus begins at conception.
In addition, in 2020, the country signed the Declaration of Consensus of Geneva, document against abortion and in defense of the family based on heterosexual couples. Brazil is also among the signatories.
The text emphasizes that “in no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning” and that “any measures or changes related to abortion within the health system can only be determined at the national or local level in accordance with the national legislative process”. “.
The countries that signed the text pledge to allow women access to “sexual and reproductive health, not including abortion” and reaffirm “that there is no international right to abortion nor any international obligation on the part of States to finance or facilitate abortion.” .
According to a ranking by the Georgetown Institute, Hungary is 46th on the list of nations that guarantee women’s well-being – the study considers criteria such as peace and security. Brazil is the 80th, among 170 countries.
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