Romanian Patriarchate urges support for pregnant women, endorses March for Life

“The Romanian Patriarchate firmly reaffirms its pro-life position, and it upholds respect for the unborn children’s fundamental right to life, while also urging concrete support for women in pregnancy crisis situations who are facing major material, social, and emotional difficulties,” transmitted the Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate on Friday, February 27, 2026.

The press release mentions that, since the communist era, when abortion was legalized, and up to the present, 23 million abortions have been performed in Romania, a number that represents more than 20% of the country’s current population. This places Romania among those most affected by the scourge of abortion.

“One of the dramatic consequences of this phenomenon, which can be observed today, is the current demographic crisis, reflected in a negative natural increase, leading to a decrease in our population by approximately one million persons per decade,” warns the Romanian Patriarchate.

The institution’s representatives remind us that at the foundation of Christian faith lies the utmost respect for human life, as an eternal gift from God to humankind.

“According to Christian Orthodox teaching, human life begins at the moment of conception, and the unborn child is a person with a living soul,” the press release emphasizes.

“Abortion represents the suppression of a fundamental right – the right to life. This truth is confessed in the Holy Scripture: from my mother’s womb You have been my God (Psalms 22:10) and Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart (Jeremiah 1:5).”

At the same time, the Church representatives appreciate the civic movement March for Life, reaching its 16th edition this year, as “a beneficial initiative aimed at drawing attention to respect for the unborn children’s right to life and to the grave demographic crisis affecting Romanian society”.

The release reminds that the March for Life is part of a larger series of events—the Month for Life—through which, throughout the month of March, a grassroots culture of life is being built in over 1,100 cities and towns across Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

“The event also promotes solidarity and support for women in pregnancy crisis situations,” the Romanian Patriarchate notes.

2026 has been declared as the Solemn Year of the Pastoral Care of the Christian Family by the Romanian Patriarchate.

Therefore, in this year dedicated to children and families, the Romanian Orthodox Church “urges all dioceses to support pregnant women in difficulty, to encourage the fathers of unborn children to assume their natural responsibility towards both mother and child, and to provide, through parishes, monasteries, and social-philanthropic centres, material assistance and spiritual guidance, so that the child’s life may be protected through the solidarity of both parents and of the community”.

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The number of abortions performed after 1989 among the Romanian population could be much higher than the official figures, given that, after 1990, three types of situations were no longer included in the statistics:

• abortions performed in private clinics;
• chemical abortions by abortion pills;
• abortions performed on Romanian women working abroad.

The official press release of the 2026 March for Life in Romania and the Republic of Moldova also draws attention to regional under-reporting of surgical abortions in state clinics, which has been lacking in some counties in recent times.

Given this situation, the actual number of abortions performed on Romanian women since 1990 could be double the official figures.