Reacting to the announcement that a State Council for Fighting Abortion will be established, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Janković pointed to Articles 44 and 63 of Constitution of the Republic of Serbia. According to the Constitution, everyone has the right to freely decide about giving birth to a child. Although Serbia encourages parents to have children, without disputing the fact that birthrate in our country has been declining for years, establishing such a body, with such name, in declared composition, must not lead to denial of women’s right to an abortion.

The state should care about reproductive health of women and raise awareness about prevention and planning of family among children and youth through education. That is also a task of health institutions and existing counseling services in health centers.

Reproductive rights and freedoms are part of human rights corpus that must never be called into question, while creation of population policies is one of the most important policies that should equally include women and men, concludes Commissioner Janković.