A Reddit post by a teenage girl who shared that she had a medical abortion before high school and college has sparked a wide-ranging debate about reproductive health. The topic also brings sex education, which – still – does not exist as a distinct subject in schools, into public attention. Meanwhile, Romania ranks first in the European Union both in terms of the number of underage mothers and abortions. In total, around 30,000 abortions are performed in Romania annually, according to Eurostat data.
“I got pregnant two months before the Baccalaureate and three before admission to college, so it was inevitable that I wouldn’t have an abortion. I discovered the pregnancy very quickly, at 4 weeks gestational age and one week fetal age,” the young woman begins her confession on Reddit.
The teenager described the medical abortion procedure step by step: the visit to the doctor, the administration of the first pill, then the vaginal capsules that determine the elimination of the pregnancy. And he emphasized the need for emotional support.
“My boyfriend was NONSTOP by my side, he even inserted my vaginal eggs, staying with me during that hour of painful cramps and always giving me moral support. It’s very important to have someone by your side!”said the young woman.
She ended the post with the statement that she does not regret the decision made.
Online reactions
The message was posted on a community dedicated to women within the platform, so the messages that came in were supportive.
“If it’s recent, I want to wish you good luck with your baccalaureate and admission. There will also be tasks completed when you feel ready and want to”;
“I’m glad you were able to make the best decision for yourself and that you have the openness to talk about it maturely”;
“I want to congratulate you for your maturity and clarity, I wish I had had such a clear mind when I was your age!”,
are some of the reactions written by other women.
Other users directly linked the testimony to the lack of reproductive education in Romania:
“There are many myths circulating and, unfortunately, reproductive health is still taboo in 2026”,
“I’m glad when we talk about abortion, society takes it in the wrong direction more recently: no abortion. Everyone forgets what dramas there were during Ceaușescu’s time.”
The discussion quickly turned to the relationship between teenagers and their parents. Asked if the family was involved, the young woman said that she and her partner managed the whole situation by themselves: “I didn’t tell them, luckily we were able to manage everything without their help.”
There were also comments that colored the medical abortion experience. One woman reported that, in her case, the procedure for a stalled pregnancy was extremely painful and required subsequent curettage. Others pointed out that the body’s reactions differ and that medical supervision is essential.
Abortion in Romania
Immediately after 1989, Romania became one of the countries with the highest abortion rates in the world, in a context where contraception was poorly accessible.
INS data shows a huge number of terminated pregnancies. Almost a million in the first years of transition and more than 500,000 in the following ones.
Since 1996, the numbers have dropped to below 500,000.
Then followed an accelerated decline:
And since 2012, the number of abortions has dropped below 100,000 per year:
And after 2019, the threshold dropped even further: below 50,000 abortions each year.
Even though the numbers have decreased more than 30 times, Romania is still among the countries in the European Union with the most abortions. Eurostat data from 2025 placed our country in sixth place for the number of pregnancy terminations, after France, Estonia, Hungary, Spain and Portugal.
Poland, sanctioned at the ECHR after a woman had to go abroad for an abortion
Most abortions were recorded in the 25-29 age group, followed by 20-24 years.
Experiment. A young woman exposes the disinformation of an anti-abortion organization: “They sent me false medical data”
In Romania, abortion on demand is legal up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. However, actual access to the procedure differs considerably from one city to another. An analysis carried out in 2024 by the Association of Independent Midwives showed that 63% of public hospitals do not offer access to termination of pregnancy.
How sex education became one of the most controversial political topics
In their initial form, the legislative projects discussed in Parliament talked about the introduction of sex education and reproductive health programs to prevent underage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
In 2020, however, the Chamber of Deputies adopted a major change: the term “sexual education” was replaced by “health education”, and student participation became conditional on the written consent of parents.
The decision provoked strong reactions from civic organizations and education specialists, who accused politicians of turning a public health topic into an ideological issue.
President Klaus Iohannis challenged the law at the Constitutional Court, arguing that the wording is unclear and restrictive. However, the CCR rejected the notification, and the law went further.
After several re-examinations and parliamentary debates, the law was enacted in 2022 in an even more limited form: “health education” programs were to be conducted only from the eighth grade and only with written parental consent.
In 2026, Romania still does not have a specific hour of sex education, not even in high school.
