Romania marks six decades since abortion ban under Ceaușescu regime

On the 60th anniversary of Decree 770, which made elective abortions practically impossible in communist Romania, the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the National Agency for Gender Equality hosted a two-day conference in Bucharest. Speakers examined the decree's harmful effects on women's health, noting the rise of clandestine abortions and the resulting fatalities. They also discussed the demographic goals that drove the policy, which produced a generation of children born with serious congenital conditions who often ended up in orphanages or inadequate medical facilities.

State officials reiterated that the legacy of state control over women's bodies persists through social attitudes and called for stronger protection of reproductive rights. The program also featured NGOs advocating for a memorial day and a monument to the victims, as well as a presentation on child-protection institutions from the communist era.