The Decree 770

October 1966, Nicolae Ceausescu signed the Decree 770, whereby it was forbidden for Romanian women to use any means of contraception and to abort. This would be punished with prison. The only women who were legitimated to demand an abortion were those who already had at least four children and were older than forty years old. In 1972, this extended to women under the age of 45 or who had at least five children.

The famous Decree 770 killed or provoked physical and psychological trauma as serious as death. Out of despair, women in Romania did whatever they could to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy. They used salt, detergent, medicinal plants, hot baths, they introduced needles in themselves, or did anything that would eliminate the pregnancy. There was a time when lemon juice was the most popular contraceptive method. Since women’s menstruation was monthly monitored by state authorities, detecting pregnancies as soon as possible was a must. Usually, they were detected through old-fashion methods such as using a frog.

During the 23 years while this Decree was applied, statistics show that over 2 million unwanted children were born in Romania, most of them ending up in orphanages. At least 10 thousand women died trying to provoke an abortion underground. Moreover, children with disabilities were rejected by the state and were sent in camps, such as the ones in Cighid with the highest rate of infant mortality in Europe (app. 50 percent).- translation from http://marelelupalb.wordpress.com/

Published in: on August 17, 2008 at 3:03 pm  Comments (3)  

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3 CommentsLeave a comment

  1. There are still countries that don’t allow abortion, such as Poland. It is important to let women be in charge of their bodies, not governments or the church

  2. It’s a great idea to tell the world about these crimes; congratulations. I have, so far, only one question to ask: Does the Government have any open investigation about these crimes to know the truth?
    Thanks

  3. it is important to disseminate this type of information throughout in order to be able to move forward. There is also a need to bring this to the attention of all forms of governments within Romania and the European Union.


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