Policies, Trends, and Practices: Insights into Reproductive Rights in Post-Socialist Romania

Abstract Book of the 7th International Conference on Gender Studies and Sexuality

Year: 2026

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Policies, Trends, and Practices: Insights into Reproductive Rights in Post-Socialist Romania

Crinela-Silvia Dragan

ABSTRACT:

This paper examines attitudes toward women’s reproductive rights in post-socialist Romania. The analysis is grounded in a gender sociology perspective, drawing on Gail Kligman’s (2000) account of reproductive politics under the socialist regime and its enduring effects in the post-socialist context. Complementarily, the study employs C. Wright Mills’ (1959) concept of the sociological imagination to illustrate how private, micro-level experiences are shaped by macro-level political and institutional decisions. Methodologically, the research engages with the Romanian legal framework on reproductive rights, explores crisis pregnancy initiatives, and conducts a descriptive and inferential analysis of secondary data on abortion. It further considers the conservative stance of the Romanian Orthodox Church and its relationship with the state. The conclusion highlights how the intersection of state policies and religious conservatism narrows women’s capacity to exercise their reproductive rights, shaping both bodily autonomy and the broader collective mentality surrounding reproductive freedom.

Keywords: The Right To Abortion; Reproductive And Sexual Rights; The Orthodox Christian Church; Traditional Family