The SPÖ and the Greens are calling for legal abortions

On the occasion of “Safe Abortion Day” on Saturday, parties and NGOs renewed their call for the decriminalization of abortion.

AUSTRIA. Every year, “Safe Abortion Day”, the International Day for Safe Abortion of Pregnancy, begins on September 28th. On this occasion, the SPÖ and the Greens are in favor of decriminalizing abortions. “Women have the right to a safe, legal, free abortion,” said SPÖ women’s leader Eva-Maria Holzleitner in a press release. The Green women’s spokeswoman Meri Disoski identified an “unspeakable criminalization”.

SPÖ calls for legalization

In Austria, abortion is regulated in the criminal code. Abortions are only punishable by fines or imprisonment under certain conditions, such as within a period of three months. The SPÖ is in favor of legalizing abortions and making them part of public health care. “Anything else is a danger to health and life,” says Holzleitner.

The Socialist Youth (SJ), which organized a media campaign in front of parliament on Thursday together with other organizations, also called for political action: “Nothing has happened regarding abortions for 50 years,” complained SJ women’s spokeswoman Fiona Schindl.

Greens want a constitutional guarantee

“Let’s make safe abortion a medical insurance benefit to which every woman in Austria has a constitutionally guaranteed right,” demands the Green Party Disoski. She warned against right-wing parties restricting women’s rights: “If Kickl comes along, he will catapult us back into the age of angel makers.” Disoski also describes it as “a shame” that abortions in Austria are not available in all federal states.

Women are “left alone and stigmatized”

The Austrian Women’s Ring insisted on its “unchanged demands for the real implementation of the right to self-determination in abortion”. Women would continue to be “left alone and stigmatized”. “The next government is urgently required to ensure the self-determination of women. In order to prevent unwanted pregnancies, contraceptives must also be free,” said chairwoman Klaudia Frieben. The Austrian Society for Family Planning (ÖGF), which took politicians to task, also shares this view.

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