Motivations and obstacles to use of abortion and contraceptive services in Ukraine

In spite of society's generally negative attitude towards abortion, the total abortion rate in Ukraine still remains higher than in most Western European countries. This contradiction between attitudes and practices is due in large part to the Soviet legacy of highly-medicalized curative rather than preventative health care. Abortion was free, un-stigmatized, and common during the Soviet Union, making it easier for women to have regular abortions than buy difficult-to-procure contraceptives. Medical experts espousing the cleansing nature of abortion and the dangers of hormonal contraceptive pills and IUDs contributed to this dependence. This system has very much remained in place in Ukraine, and shifting to a preventative, contraception-based reproductive health care system has been difficult. In some countries family planning and abortion have become so highly politicized that women are denied access on ideological grounds. In Ukraine, however, the lack of a connection between women's rights and reproductive health has made reproductive health a strictly medical issue. Mobilizing the women's rights movement to support reproductive rights would encourage the involvement of other sectors in empowering women to make the shift to preventative measures to protect their own health and the health of their families.