Ukraine's Greek Catholic Church sparked an abortion debate after a recent talk of its leader to students in western Ukraine.
An ultra-right member of parliament was quick on his feet to register a draft law banning abortions, while doctors, women’s organizations and other pro-choice groups warned that the move would be disastrous for Ukraine.
Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholics, in a speech earlier this month said “over 20 years of independent Ukraine we have knowingly and willingly killed 40 million children.”
Over 20 years of independent Ukraine we have knowingly and willingly killed 40 million children – Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholics
He went on to say that those children who were born are “the ones who accidentally avoided the lethal hand of their parents.’’
He said his church will address the government to consider banning abortions altogether.
Shevchuk was immediately criticized for distorting statistics to make a point.
Health Ministry figures indicate that the number of abortions is about eight times lower than the bishop suggested, and going down. It is down from 1 million in 1991 to 156,000 in 2011.
The church argues that official figures fail to count the abortions that end at the earliest stages of pregnancy with pills. It claims unregistered abortions are common. The ministry claims its figures it’s figures factors all cases in, as well as all illegal abortions discovered by the police.
But that did not persuade Andriy Shkil, a right-wing parliamentarian who registered a bill to ban abortions on March 12.
His draft suggests that abortions should only be allowed as an exception in special medical circumstances, in case of death of the child’s father, if the family has a history of disability or in case of teenage pregnancies under 16.
Shkil said abortions in Ukraine costless than visiting a dentist. “We need to stop the situation when doctors kill children using public funds,” he said.
Dozens of women’s organizations came out with a public appeal against the move. “None of us women endorse artificial interruption of a life,” they wrote. “But it does not mean that women should be denied the right to make choices and decide about their bodies and their destiny.”
Halyna Maystruk, a gynecologist and head of the Foundation of Women’s Health and Family Planning, said that in neighboring Poland, an abortion ban did not increase birthrates. Instead, Polish women now go to Germany or France for an abortion, while less affluent families often opt for Lviv in Ukraine.
In neighboring Poland, an abortion ban did not increase birthrates. Instead, Polish women now go to Germany or France for an abortion, while less affluent families often opt for Lviv in Ukraine – Halyna Maystruk, gynecologist and head of the Foundation of Women’s Health and Family Planning
But most Ukrainian women don’t have the option of going abroad.
“The black market will be running. Providers of these services will be people who have no relation to medicine and the cost for the medical sector will be huge,” warns Maystruk.
Instead of relatively cheap abortions, the health-care system will have to pick up the costs that could include expensive surgeries and rehabilitation.
“The consequences can be terrible – we have the experience of the Stalin times, particularly from 1946 to 1955, when thousands of women in Ukraine were dying during [illegal] abortions. Today, women are not dying from abortion,” Maystruk says.
Shkil says that the high mortality rate in the Stalin years was caused by a complete ban on abortions, even for medical reasons. He believes that his law leaves enough room to avoid that.
Vyacheslav Kaminsky, chief gynecologist at the Health Ministry, is against an abortion ban. “Instantly some criminal proposals will arise, therefore they will do it on the streets,” Kaminsky says.
He said Ukraine’s current legislation on abortion is in line with European standards.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 2008 argued that a ban “does not result in fewer abortions, but mainly leads to clandestine abortions, which are more traumatic and cause the increasing of maternal mortality or development of ‘abortion tourism,’ which is costly, postpone the time of abortion and leads to social inequality.
The legality of abortion has no impact on the needs of women in abortion, but only on her access to safe abortion.”
Both supporters and opponents of the ban agree that abortions have severe social consequences.
According to Kaminsky, the reason for 80 percent of abortions is poverty in the family.
Representatives of the church and women’s organizations say that the state needs to address the problem by creating conditions where giving birth to a child is less financially burdensome.
Also, Maystruk says that a major campaign on contraception is needed.
“Ukraine has a big problem with the use of contraception, especially in rural areas and among people with financial constraints,” she says.
Kyiv Post staff writer Olena Abramovych can be reached at [email protected].
