Abortion: pros and cons

In his Easter Epistle Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II suggested banning abortion in Georgia. The public reaction to Ilia II's comments was mixed. The majority of the Georgian population is against abortion but also feel that banning would result in unpleasant consequences.

The Catholicos-Patriarch thinks that abortion is equivalent to murder. According to Ilia II, abortion is supported by the media and liberal ideology. In his epistle the Catholicos-Patriarch stressed the serious demographic situation in Georgia and urged government officials to adopt special legislation that would ban abortion and increase the declining population.

However, Ilia II also mentioned that in exceptional cases abortion might be allowed. The Patriarch thinks the media can play a significant role by encouraging a baby-boom in Georgia.

Ilia II tried to prove his point by using statistical data. According to unofficial data over 100,000 abortions occur in Georgia every year. The Fund of Demographic Revival has created a special commission which will draft a special legislative initiative to ban abortion and submit it to Parliament.

Some analysts think that banning abortion will only result in a huge increase of illegal abortions, which are dangerous due to unsanitary conditions and unsafe medical practices. In countries where abortion is illegal abortions still occur but with the result that many women die in the process.

Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili thinks a ban on abortion will not solve Georgia's demographic problems. The Prime Minister said this problem should first of all be solved by increasing the economic welfare of the country.

Some abortions are conducted in Georgia because of the future child's gender. Some Georgian families want to have a boy rather than a girl. Many specialists think that selective abortion should be banned.

So the topic of abortion has recently become a major issue of speculation in the mass media. Overall, the mood of the Georgian public towards abortion is highly ambivalent.