SKOPJE, June 6, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The government of the tiny Balkan state of Macedonia is being blasted from the Left for considering a proposal to increase restrictions on abortion, after decades of a Communist-era law that implemented a virtually unrestricted regime of abortion-on-demand.
An editorial in the Slovenian language paper Dnevnik denounced the publicity from “human rights groups” and opposition parties that are characterising the bill as part of a “war on women.”
The proposed law would require that women give written consent to the abortion and see a gynecologist in advance, and institutes a three-day wait.
It also requires that the woman’s “partner” be informed about the procedure.
The bill has already received the assent of the Macedonian parliament in a first reading. But most of the objections have centered around the requirement that the mother receive counseling three days prior to an abortion.
The government is feeling the pressure. A statement from Health Minister Nikola Todorov said the draft law “does not endanger abortion rights.”
One editorial at Okno.mk said the bill will centralize power into the hands of the Ministry of Health and “devalue the decision-making capacities and self-consciousness of women and de-legitimize her choice.”
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“I would not defend a law that forbids abortion,” Todorov was quoted saying. The law, he said, only enhances the current system of controls on abortion, providing “greater and more secure” protection of patients.
Todorov said the measure is in line with the current practice throughout most of the European Union, and with only three days, it will be one of the shortest in Europe. Denmark requires a 14-day wait, seven in France, six in Belgium, and five in the Netherlands.
“You will see that this is the shortest period for mandatory counseling from the time of counseling by the time of abortion,” Todorov told Radio MOF. The purpose, he added is to provide more information about the abortion procedure.
Some opponents have said the draft law’s “biggest flaw” is that it requires that abortion be entered into the patient’s medical history. They have predicted that a three-day waiting period would lead women to seek “unsafe” illegal abortions.
Article 191 of the 1974 Federal Constitution of Yugoslavia says, “It is a human right to decide freely and responsibly on the number and timing of offspring.”
Under the law of the former socialist Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, abortion is allowed on request for any reason during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. After 10 weeks, the approval of three doctors or social workers is required.
The UN’s documents note that to the 1980s, Macedonia, as part of the former state of Yugoslavia, registered “high rates of abortion, a high rate of repeat abortions, increased second-trimester abortions and increased abortions among adolescents,” which trends suggest that abortion was being used as a method of “contraception,” “with all the attendant health risks.”
Despite the easy availability of abortion, the country’s abortion rate fell after the 1980s up to the time of independence, from a peak of 70.6 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 in 1986 to 28.5 in 1996.
Abortion and contraception were a major interest of the Soviet-linked socialist government of Yugoslavia, which welcomed International Planned Parenthood affiliate the Family Planning Association into the country in 1966. UN documents note that the drop in the abortion rate coincided with an increase in the use of artificial contraceptives.
With a population just over 2 million, Macedonia’s overall fertility rate is just 1.49 children born/woman, well below the 2.1 required to maintain a stable population.
The country’s crude birth rate and overall fertility rate has seen a steady decline since the socialist period in the 1940s. In 1947 the crude birth rate was 35.3 children per 1,000 women and in 1960, the first date for which a figure is available, the total fertility rate was 4.11 children born per woman.
By the time of independence, in 1993, the crude birth rate was down to 16.7 children per 1,000 women, and the overall fertility rate had fallen to 2.15/woman. Although the population is still increasing, the rate of growth has steadily slowed over this period, including a dramatic plunge in the early 1980s, from 0.43 per cent per year in 2001 to 0.24 as of 2011.
The statistical office of the Macedonian government notes the continuing decline in fertility rates, saying, “It can be said that the reduction of fertility is due to postponement of marriage to older age.”
The government also notes that the drop in fertility has resulted in the overall aging of the population: “Changes in the age structure of the population have their impact on the number of deaths in the country. In 2011, there were 19,465 deaths, an increase of 1.8% compared to the previous year.”