In 1974, Yugoslavia became the first country to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution. However, after gaining independence, Slovenia and Croatia, despite their shared socialist legacy, took different paths regarding Article 55 of the constitution. In the past years we have been witnessing a trend where pregnant individuals are traveling from Croatia to Slovenia to access abortion services. This is largely a consequence of the widespread invocation of the right to conscientious objection by doctors and medical staff in Croatia, where such practices are particularly prevelent. Alongside conscientious objection, the legal and practial realization of abortion rights is shaped by the re-Chatolization efforts of the Roman Catholic Church and the conservative groups associated with it. A significant counterbalance to these regressive tendencies, civil society groups and non-governmental organizations have emerged, employing various strategies to advocate for accessible and abortion on request for all pregnant individuals.
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