(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A solid majority of people in the Czech Republic agree with legal abortions at the request of the mother, according to a poll by CVVM. 70 per cent of respondents share this point of view, down three points since May 2009.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A solid majority of people in the Czech Republic agree with legal abortions at the request of the mother, according to a poll by CVVM. 70 per cent of respondents share this point of view, down three points since May 2009.
Only three per cent of respondents think abortion should be completely banned, and just seven per cent think it should only be legal if the woman’s health is at risk.
Abortion is legal in the Czech Republic within the first 12 weeks of gestation. The procedure can also be performed for medical reasons in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, or at any time during gestation and if the fetus has defects.
Czechoslovakia was separated into two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, in the "velvet divorce" of 1993, a reference to the "velvet revolution" in 1989 when mass peaceful demonstrations led to the end of communist rule in the country.
The law allowing for abortion was introduced with some restrictions in 1975, when the Czech Republic was still part of Czechoslovakia. Since 1992, abortions for non-medical reasons are not covered by the state-administered health care system, but rates for this procedure are generally low.
Earlier this year, in neighbouring Poland, the Polish branch of the American anti-abortion Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (CBR) issued a campaign linking abortions to the Nazi occupation. Ads on billboards recalled that it was part of Nazi policy to have "girls and women" in the "Slave native population have as many abortions as possible" so that the "non-German population" would not multiply.
Polling Data
What is your opinion on abortion?
|
|
May 2010
|
May 2009
|
May 2008
|
May 2007
|
|
Abortion should be allowed at the request of the woman
|
70%
|
73%
|
75%
|
72%
|
|
Abortion should be allowed for societal reasons
|
16%
|
16%
|
15%
|
19%
|
|
Abortion should only be allowed if a woman’s health is at risk
|
7%
|
5%
|
6%
|
5%
|
|
Abortion should be banned
|
3%
|
2%
|
1%
|
1%
|
|
Not sure
|
4%
|
4%
|
3%
|
2%
|
Source: CVVM
Methodology: Interviews with 1,061 Czech adults, conducted from May 3 to May 10, 2010. No margin of error was provided.
