On September 12, two independent Romanian MPs, Mihail Ionescu and Monica Ionescu, submitted a draft law aimed at increasing legal protection for pregnant women and their unborn children in cases of violence.
The proposal does not change the conditions under which abortion is legal in Romania (elective abortion up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, for medical reasons after 14 weeks). Instead, it introduces penalties for aggressors who cause the death of a child in the womb after 14 weeks of pregnancy through acts of violence against the pregnant woman.
Currently, Romanian criminal law punishes an aggressor if violence against a pregnant woman results in the death of her child after birth, but not if the child dies before birth as a direct result of the assault. The draft law seeks to close this gap.
[Click here to subscribe to Pregnancy Help News!]
The text of the proposal explicitly states:
“There is no negative impact on the right to abortion or other reproductive freedoms. The bill does not modify the conditions under which abortion is legal and does not introduce any sanction for voluntary interruption of pregnancy performed in accordance with the law.”
Despite this clarity, major Romanian media outlets reported the initiative as if it sought to criminalize abortion.
Headlines claimed that “lawmakers want to incriminate abortion,” while a government official alleged - without basis - that the bill would “reduce the period for abortion from 14 to 8 weeks.”
Another broadcaster told its audience that the draft law “introduces prison sentences for abortion after 14 weeks.”
This narrative quickly spread across the news, fueling political reactions about a supposed “attack on reproductive rights.”
After the media narrative was challenged, some activists began to say that, while the bill may not directly restrict abortion, it creates confusion and is part of a broader process aimed at banning abortion altogether. This claim is unsupported, given that the draft law does not modify the provisions of the Criminal Code or the special law regulating abortion. It only seeks to introduce criminal protection for the unborn child when harmed by third parties, such as through violence against a pregnant woman.
Tweet This: Romanian media outlets have falsely reported on a draft law as though it seeks to criminalize abortion.
Reactions to the misreporting
Pro-life leaders in Romania strongly rejected the media’s portrayal.
Alexandra Nadane, president of the Romania for Life Association, stated:
“Two MPs submitted a bill to punish those who attack a pregnant woman and kill or injure her child, and yet G4Media wrote that they want to ban abortion. This, despite the explanatory memorandum clearly repeating that the proposal does not change abortion law at all. Its sole purpose is to punish those who harm the child against the pregnant woman’s will, by committing violence against her.”
Teodora Paul, president of Students for Life Bucharest, emphasized:
“The bill does NOT change anything regarding abortion on request up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, nor abortions allowed by law after 14 weeks. The text itself, in the explanatory memorandum, repeats several times that legal abortion remains untouched. The bill punishes only those who, through violence, harm a pregnant woman and kill or injure her child against her will.”
Legal experts also criticized the media exaggerations.
Attorney Adrian Toni Neacșu explained:
“When ideology interferes with criminal policy, monsters appear. A simple proposal to amend two paragraphs of one article in the Criminal Code generated a whole media storm. The truth is banal: no one eliminates the right to abortion, no one gives more rights to the unborn child than to the mother, and no doctor is sent to prison. The two MPs merely introduced a correction long requested by specialists, covering situations where a fetus dies in the womb due to violence or negligence—cases currently left outside the scope of criminal liability.”
Attorney Florin Pușcaș noted:
“The proposal amends article 202 (harm to the fetus), not article 201 (termination of pregnancy). It does not punish the woman or the doctor for legal abortion. Rather, it extends criminal protection to the fetus, especially after 14 weeks, and harmonizes it with medical thresholds. Fake news about a return to Decree 770 is misleading: then, abortion was directly restricted; here, the focus is on violence by third parties against pregnant women.”
At the same time, the debate revealed that for others the real goal is not simply to oppose this bill, but to eliminate all references to abortion from the Criminal Code altogether. As Irina Mateescu, head of the Romanian Midwives Association, told G4Media: “What we really need is the complete decriminalization of abortion in the Criminal Code… Our vision is that abortion should even be enshrined in the Constitution, as in France.”
Meanwhile, supporters of the bill stress its actual purpose: protecting women from violence. “If this law were passed, pregnant women would be better protected, domestic violence would be discouraged, and aggressors would face stricter penalties,” one supporter said.
The urgency of such measures is underscored by two widely publicized cases in Romania, where pregnant women were killed by their partners, along with their unborn children. Currently, the law does not fully recognize or punish the loss of these children when death occurs before birth.
Whether one supports or opposes the bill, its actual content is clear: it is not about abortion restrictions but about closing a legal loophole that leaves pregnant women and their unborn children vulnerable to violence. The controversy reveals more about media responsibility—and about broader ideological battles over abortion—than about the legislation itself.
Editor’s note: Teodora Paul is President of Students for Life Bucharest. This article is a Pregnancy Help News original.
