Referred to Salzburg

Abortion: woman was not given an appointment in Bregenz

The provincial hospital in Bregenz

(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

An unwanted pregnant woman was not given an appointment for an abortion at the Vorarlberg State Hospital (LKH) in Bregenz. Instead, she was referred to Salzburg. The reason given was that abortions are only performed in Bregenz up to the 13th week of pregnancy. This is before the legal deadline.

In Austria, abortion is not punishable until the beginning of the 16th week. The woman concerned was 13 weeks pregnant in May when she contacted the Vorarlberg regional hospital. There would have been a free surgery date there in seven days. However, the hospital set the deadline at the end of the 13th week.

Later, it was a "completely different procedure", a "much larger operation", they said. Hospitals would not generally agree to this, said Michael Rhode, Head of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, to ORF Vorarlberg. In any case, there would have been no ethical concerns, otherwise the procedure would not have been offered at all.

We are sorry for every woman for whom we cannot offer this service. But these are the framework conditions we have been given and we have to adhere to them.

Michael Rhode, Leiter der Abteilung für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe

 Doctor criticizes procedure
"We are sorry for every woman where we cannot offer the procedure. But these are the framework conditions we have been given and we have to adhere to them." They had been referred to other options, such as one in Salzburg. Instead, the woman turned to the gynecologist who had previously been the only point of contact for abortions in Vorarlberg. The partially retired doctor still performs medical abortions.

According to him, everything went according to plan. He criticizes the actions of his colleagues: "The Bregenz State Hospital is not doing what was previously promised by politicians - namely making abortions possible within the time limit."

Information announced
The hospital has now announced more detailed information on its website and women have already been informed of the self-imposed deadline at their first consultation.

As reported , after months of debate, the Vorarlberg state government decided in the fall to allow abortions as a private service at the Bregenz state hospital. With the retirement of the private doctor, there would no longer have been an offer in the province. According to ORF, around 170 abortions were performed in the past six months, two thirds of which were performed using medication.