ABSTRACT
In 1992, after the initiatives of several antiabortion organizations, which were followed by the counter-initiatives of pro-choice organizations, the Hungarian Constitutional Court canceled the existing legal regulations on induced abortion and set a deadline for parliament to pass a new abortion law. This deadline was December 31, 1992. This chapter outlines the current situation for women opting to have an abortion in Hungary. The result of most recent abortion legislation in Hungary yields a law that is quite similar to the ordinance of 1956 and may be said to be quite liberal in composition—although it still presents various restrictions for women wishing to terminate their pregnancies. The Hungarian National Assembly had to choose between two versions of the Law on the Protection of the Fetus, proposed in fall of 1992 by the governing coalition. The largest liberal opposition party in parliament, Alliance of Free Democrats, submitted its proposal for a law on "the termination of a pregnancy" in spring 1992.
