Hungary eases abortion rules in women’s rights overhaul

Hungary’s government will ease access to emergency contraception and roll back a controversial abortion rule as part of a broader package of women’s rights reforms, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Thursday. The measures, which also include stronger protections for victims of abuse and ratification of an international treaty on violence against women, mark a sharp break with the policies of former premier Viktor Orban. “We are proposing a comprehensive package of measures to curb all forms of violence against women, for the safety and dignity of Hungarian women,” Magyar said in a Facebook video. Magyar, who ended Orban’s 16-year rule with an election victory in April, said ratifying the Istanbul Convention was a “long overdue debt” of the Hungarian state. The 2014 treaty is aimed at preventing violence against women and domestic violence. It requires signatories to criminalise rape based on the absence of consent. Magyar said the government would amend the criminal code to strengthen protections for women, including rules governing restraining orders. Misuse of intimate images will become a criminal offence, while victims of domestic violence will receive special treatment during criminal proceedings. “We are making it clear that sexual acts can only take place with the voluntary consent of the other party,” Magyar said. Women will no longer need a prescription to obtain emergency contraception, and the government will introduce measures to tackle “menstrual poverty”, he said. The government will also amend a 2022 rule passed by the Orban government requiring pregnant women seeking an abortion to provide evidence from a healthcare provider of a definitive sign of life, widely interpreted as a foetal heartbeat. The change prompted criticism and protest from doctors and women’s rights groups who called the procedure “cruel” and “humiliating”. Magyar said the rule had failed to reduce the number of abortions while raising “serious bioethical questions” and causing additional trauma for women facing difficult circumstances.