In the article, I discuss the expansion of access to abortion in Slovenia since the 1960s, in particular the introduction of social indications as a separate category of legally accepted reasons for it. I describe legal regulations, the role of social workers in Commissions granting abortion, and the practice of decision-making with regard to social reasons, i.e., which individual, family and social circumstances were considered legitimate to grant an abortion. Since such requests became dominant immediately after the introduction of social indications, the practice of decision-making can help us acknowledge social norms during socialism. In particular, this refers to a shift from understanding abortion as a medical problem to understanding social circumstances leading women to seek it and a change in the state’s focus towards creating the conditions for family planning policies.
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