Women in Hungary are now required to listen to their baby’s heartbeat before they can have an abortion.
Under the new regulation doctors are required to present pregnant women with “the factors indicating the presence of the vital functions of the embryo”.
In the UK, abortion is permitted up to 24 weeks for most reasons but is available up to birth for conditions including Down’s syndrome and cleft palate.
’Pro-life move’
Hungary’s Interior Ministry said: “Nearly two-thirds of Hungarians associate the beginning of a child’s life with the first heartbeat.”
The Ministry emphasised that modern equipment can detect an early heartbeat and provide pregnant women with “more comprehensive” information.
Despite a constitutional change in 2011 which enshrined that “the life of a fetus will be protected from conception”, abortion in the country is legal up to twelve weeks and in certain cases 24 weeks.
Poland
In Poland, abortions decreased by 90 per cent following its recent law change.
In October 2020, Poland’s Constitutional Court ruled that abortions on the grounds of disability violated the “constitutionally protected right to life” and could no longer be permitted.
Polish Ministry of Health data showed that abortions decreased from 1,076 in 2020 to 107 in 2021.
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