Since 1991, when Yugoslavia fell apart and Croatia became an independent state, conservative elements in the country have been trying to overturn the liberal abortion law introduced in the communist era. This legislation from 1978 allows Croatian women to have an abortion up to the 10th week of pregnancy without having to give reasons or fulfill any additional conditions. That is the theory. In practice, however, implementing the law has been somewhat tricky, as it was amended in 2003 to give doctors the right to refuse the operation on grounds of conscience. Sanja Kovacevic from the organization Platform for Reproductive Justice concedes that …
