Abortion as a Natural or Political Issue in Croatian Constitutional Judicial Practice

Abstract

This article analyses some parts of the Decision No. U-I-60/1991 et al., in which the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia decided on the question of the constitutionality of the Act on Health Measures in Implementation of the Right to Freely Decide on Childbirth i.e., on the right to abortion. The points of the Decision No. U-I- 60/1991 et al. related to the issue of the moral aspect of abortion, values related to the question of abortion, and conclusions of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia on the legal status of the human embryo/foetus and the woman’s right to privacy, are analyzed in detail. The conclusion is drawn as to whether the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia brought Decision No. U-I-60/1991 et al. in compliance with expert opinions and scientific facts or whether it was guided by ideology and political circumstances.

Keywords

• abortion
• human embryo/foetus
• morality
• privacy.