Anti-abortion activists have protested in Croatia amid a fierce debate about reproductive rights in the country.
While abortion is legal in the strongly Catholic EU nation, rising religious pressure means many doctors are refusing to carry out terminations.
The protest on Saturday came after thousands rallied to support a woman who was refused an abortion despite foetal abnormalities being diagnosed.
Croatian health authorities have now given her permission for a termination.
People protest against abortion in downtown Zagreb, Croatia, 14 May 2022. People took part in ‘Walk of Life’ events to promote the belief that the human life begins with conception and ends with natural death, and that the right to life is a fundamental human right. EPA-EFE/ANTONIO BAT
Following mounting public outrage, a medical commission ruled last week that medical and legal preconditions for the procedure had been met.
But it said the woman would have to travel to neighbouring Slovenia for the procedure.
Concern has been growing for years that the procedure is becoming less available in the Balkan country due to pressure from the Catholic Church and activists.
An overwhelming majority of Croatia’s 3.9 million people are Catholics, and the Church plays an important role in society.
Terminations in are legal in the country and allowed after the tenth week of pregnancy if there are serious health risks to the mother or foetus.
The existing law that permits abortions dates back to 1978, when the country was part of the Communist-run former Yugoslavia.
