The Austrian Women's Ring has publicly supported the demands for abortion without punishment. The chairwoman, Klaudia Frieben, stresses the importance of abortion as an important health service that should not be anchored in criminal law. The Women's Ring supports the demand of the Minister of Social Affairs and Health to make abortions available to all women who are unintentionally pregnant free of charge, with low barriers and without penalties.
An article from www.ots.at criticizes the fact that the Minister for Women, Susanne Raab, ignores the central demands of women's policy and merely refers to support offers instead of discussing changes to the law and closing gaps in provision. The Women's Ring finds this attitude disappointing, as many committed women in Austria are fighting for the right to self-determination.
Frieben points out that Raab's proposal for automatic pension splitting is not a comprehensive panacea for women's policy. She stresses the need for women's policy measures that start in working life and in the distribution of unpaid work in order to ensure financial security for women in old age. Frieben therefore calls for real structural changes in pension law instead of superficial measures.
It is clear that the discussion about legal abortion and the position of women in society in Austria continues to gain importance. The Women's Ring is actively committed to the rights and self-determination of women and will probably continue to put pressure on political decision-makers to achieve fair and appropriate legislation. The debate about women's rights and gender equality will therefore continue to be a central issue in Austrian politics in the future.
Source: die-nachrichten.at
