Dramatic Fall in Hungarian Abortions Attributed to Government Policies

07.06.2018

Hungary's ever increasing support for families by the government is creating an environment where marriages and families are flourishing and abortion numbers are dropping, one of the country’s ministers told a recent international conference on life and family.

The support has caused abortion numbers to plunge by more than a third of what they were in 2010 (40,449 to 28,500). It has also caused a plunge in the number of divorces (23,873 in 2010 to 18,600 in 2017) and a surge in the number of marriages (35,520 in 2010 to 50,600 in 2017).

"A precondition of the medium and long-term social development and the sustainability of Hungary is a lasting turn in demographic trends," Katalin Novàk, Hungarian Minister of State for the Family, Youth and International Affairs, said.

"The objective can be achieved with a stable, complex, targeted and flexible family policy that is capable of adapting to changing needs and conditions," she added.

Novàk’s office is responsible for the management of the central European country’s family policy.

"The Fundamental Law (Hungary’s constitution) attaches special importance to the family, protects the institution of marriage, and states that the foundation of family lies in marriage and in parent-child relationship. It declares that Hungary shall encourage the commitment to have children," Novàk said.

Hungary’s approach includes assisting families with reconciling of work and family obligations. Considering this “of key importance,” current Hungarian family policy has comprehensive programmes to offer this help to families.

Helping families includes maternity support, paid childcare leave, family tax benefits and housing allowance, tax allowances that encourage young couples to marry, encourage young couples to marry, vacation benefits, no-charge holiday camps for children, subsidised textbooks, and decreased utility costs. Families have seen significant financial gains, including a 63.8 per cent increase since 2010 in the net average earnings of the Hungarian families due to the family tax reduction alone.

LifeSite News. June 1.