Romania: Disinformation and Truth About a Draft Bill That Protects Pregnant Women and Their Children

In recent days, the public space in Romania has been unsettled by false claims about a draft bill that provides for the punishment of aggressors when, through acts of violence, they injure or kill the unborn child of a pregnant woman.

Alexandra Nadane, president of România pentru Viață (“Romania for Life” Association), points out that two influential public voices, Victoria Stoiciu (vice-president of the largest political party in Romania) and Oana Marinescu have published alarmist texts at odds with legal reality. The two claim that the bill is a “perverse strategy” to gradually ban abortion and that the legal period for terminating a pregnancy “would be reduced from 14 to 8 weeks.”

What the draft bill actually says

The reality is different. The proposed bill does not amend the article of the Criminal Code regarding abortion on demand. It remains permitted up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, exactly as before.

What the legislative initiative does is amend Article 202 of the Criminal Code (“Injury to the Fetus”) and introduce clear penalties for aggressors who, through violence against a pregnant woman, cause injury or death to the child in the womb—but only if the pregnancy has passed 14 weeks.

The explanatory memorandum clearly states the purpose: harmonizing the Criminal Code with medical legislation in order to punish acts of violence that lead to pregnancy loss.

What the draft bill does NOT provide

• There is nowhere in the text any mention of “8 weeks”—this claim is simply fabricated.
• The law on abortion on demand is not changed—it remains unchanged up to 14 weeks.
• The legal status of “person” is not introduced for the fetus—only additional criminal protection against aggression.
• The claim that the initiative “restricts the right to abortion” is a gross distortion of reality.

A false controversy

“To make yourself needlessly vulnerable by outright lying about a bill authored by two opposition MPs shows a personal agenda that will harm your own party and coalition,” Alexandra Nadane emphasized.

In fact, the discussion should be a matter of common sense: if a pregnant woman is assaulted and, as a result of the blows, her child is injured or killed, the aggressor must be held accountable for that act as well. To deny this principle means ignoring both medical reality and the elementary right to protection of a mother and her child.

Life needs protection

In a society where domestic violence and assaults against women are a sad reality, this bill strengthens the protection of victims. It is about concretely supporting pregnant women and sending a clear message: violence against a mother and her child will not go unpunished.

Turning this protective measure into a pretext to spread panic and falsehoods about banning abortion means derailing the debate and leaving defenseless precisely those who most need support—pregnant women.