Hungary eases abortion rules
Hungary will scrap its controversial fetal heartbeat regulation and ratify the Istanbul Convention, the government announced on Thursday.
The planned changes are a significant break with the conservative policies of the previous government led by Viktor Orban. The new administration, led by Prime Minister Peter Magyar, is implementing a series of reforms that it says will better protect women and end what it calls an era of inaction.
The most immediate change will be the end of the 'heartbeat regulation,' a 2022 policy that required women to listen to a fetus's vital signs before deciding on an abortion. The policy had drawn widespread criticism from doctors and women’s rights groups as cruel and humiliating.
The policy had not led to a decline in abortions and according to Magyar, had raised 'serious bioethical questions.'
Under the new rules, women will be able to obtain emergency contraceptive pills without a prescription. The government is also amending the criminal code to better protect women, including by making the misuse of intimate images a criminal offense and strengthening the treatment of victims of domestic violence.
Ratification of Istanbul Convention
Hungary will also ratify the Istanbul Convention, a treaty by the Council of Europe that most other EU members have long ratified. The convention, which came into force in 2014, requires rape to be criminalized based on the absence of freely given consent.
The previous government, led by Viktor Orban, had opposed the treaty, arguing that it promoted what it described as 'gender ideology.' The new government says the move is a clear and accountable commitment to protecting women.
Among the EU’s other members, only Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovakia have not yet ratified the convention. The treaty is a key instrument for promoting human rights and the rule of law across Europe.
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