50 years after the former Yugoslavia protected abortion rights, that legacy is under threat

By DARKO BANDIC and JOVANA GEC
Associated Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Religious and neo-conservative groups have been ramping up pressure to ban abortions in staunchly Catholic Croatia. They have held vigils outside abortion clinics and marches drawing thousands of people. More recently, groups of men can be seen kneeling and praying at public squares in Croatian cities. The fierce debate has fueled divisions and in the European Union nation of some 3.9 million people.  Abortion remains legal but access to the procedure is often denied, sending many women to neighboring Slovenia to end a pregnancy. This is in stark contrast with Croatia’s recent past when it was part of the former Yugoslavia, Communist-run country that protected abortion rights in its constitution 50 years ago.