Opinion

I told Lithuanian women’s stories about abortion, and was called ‘tone-deaf’

Most women don’t regret their abortions – but most mainstream media coverage in Lithuania would make you think otherwise

By Elena Reimeryte

I told Lithuanian women’s stories about abortion, and was called ‘tone-deaf’ — Protesters in Lithuania express their support for a woman's right to choose | Women's March Movement, Lithuania

Published: July 08, 2021, 7:02 am

In 2010, I met a general practitioner in Lithuania who said that if her young daughters came to her asking for an abortion, she would evict them from home. She said she always tries to talk her patients out of abortions.

I had forgotten about this until I met Adele – a woman interviewed for a recent online documentary I worked on with the LRT national broadcaster. When she was 18, she had a surgical abortion in a hospital in the capital, Vilnius. She said that as the nurse administered the anaesthetic, she whispered to her: “Murderer”.

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