Egy új demokrácia első próbája: abortuszvita a rendszerváltás idején
The first test of a new democracy: the abortion debate during the transition

Summary/Abstract: In 1990, in the context of shaping Hungarian democracy, the Constitutional Court overturned the actual abortion regulations following a petition by an organization, Pacem in Utero (it means peace in the uterus). Until the new law was enacted, there was a heated debate between abortion advocates and opponents over whether a more restrictive abortion law should be enacted. In this article I would like to introduce this debate, firstly with a view of the articles published in the Magyar Napló in the summer of 1990, mostly written by men (journalists, politicians, etc.). The other aspect comes from the Feminist Network, which was formed along with the transition, and its members – women – collected signatures to oppose the tightening. I reconstruct the Network’s campaign from the remaining sources (posters, newspaper articles, and the association paper, Nőszemély). At last, I present the echoes of the campaign in the press and the conclusions the activists have drawn.

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