Central and eastern Europe: recent trends in abortion law

The authors analyze recent developments in the abortion laws in seven countries in central and eastern Europe, Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary, Poland and Romania, first country by country, then thematically, comparing the ways these countries' laws deal with gestational age limitations, specifications about the practitioners who may perform abortions and the facilities in which they may be performed, third-party authorization and notification requirements, mandatory counseling requirements, restrictions on the availability of abortion information, fees for abortion services and the question of fetal rights. At the conclusion of their discussion of each of these thematic issues, they recommend ways in which these laws might be made better and fairer, in form and in practice, for the women in these countries who find it necessary to consider having abortions.