Austria: No Doctors to Perform Abortions in Public Hospitals in Tyrol

In Austria, abortion on demand is permitted within the first three months of pregnancy. This generally means up until the end of the 13th week, calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period. There is not mandatory consultation or prescribed waiting period before an abortion.

After the third month, an abortion can only be performed if approved by an ethics committee and in the three following situations: the fetus has a serious physical or mental handicap; there is a serious threat to the life or physical/mental health of the mother; the pregnant woman was less than 14 years old at the time of conception.

According to Kath.net, “a late-term abortion cannot be performed for a disability. Unfortunately, children with disabilities or limited life expectancy can still be discriminated against and eliminated in the name of ‘medical indication’.” In the case of a late-term abortion, the murder of the baby is done by inducing labor: this is a process which generally lasts several days.

Tyrol is one of the nine Länder [federal states] which compose the Republic of Austria. It is the third largest by surface area, and the fifth largest in terms of population.

Some Austrian doctors, and especially those who practice public medicine in the Tyrol region, refuse to perform abortions, which is good news. This is part of the rejection that is increasingly found among doctors, who are less and less able to bear having to kill while they fight daily to heal and save.