Two demands

Rauch adds steam to the abortion debate

720.60 euros is the cost of an abortion at Bregenz Regional Hospital.(Bild: parilov)

With his proposal to remove the paragraph on abortion from the penal code and his call for free abortions, Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) has ensured that this very topic is once again the subject of heated debate in Vorarlberg.

Representatives of "Youth for Life" criticized on Friday that the practice of the only doctor who had performed abortions in Vorarlberg until autumn was still open. Governor Markus Wallner (ÖVP) had only agreed to allow abortions to be carried out at Bregenz State Hospital due to an impending shortage of care.

"The devastatingly wrong decision to allow prenatal abortions at the provincial hospital must be reversed immediately. We demand the resignation of Health Councillor Rüscher, who has deceived the governor with this sham argumentation," rants Gabriela Huber, chairwoman of the "Youth for Life" organization.

Demonstrations again and again
Supporters of abortion, on the other hand, are repeatedly annoyed by anti-abortion activists who are not even deterred by a three-metre-high hedge in front of the Bregenz hospital from making life difficult for women on their way to an operation.

In addition, the left-wing state parliament parties (Greens and SPÖ) support Rauch's demand for free - or at least cheaper - abortions. Anyone having an abortion at the LKH is currently asked to pay 720.60 euros - a sum that young or low-income women in particular can only afford with great difficulty.