Skip to content
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Reproductive Rights

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Pro Bono Program
    • Creative Council
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
    • Global Advocacy
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift Now
    • Be a Champion
    • Join the Advocates Council
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Give Through Your Donor-Advised Fund
    • Make a Gift In Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Leave a Legacy
    • More Ways to Give
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Donate
icon-hamburger icon-magnifying-glass Donate
icon-magnifying-glass-teal

Moldovan Woman Imprisoned for Abortion Pardoned and Freed

Center for Reproductive Rights - Center for Reproductive Rights - search logo
search Close Close icon
Center for Reproductive Rights -
Menu Close Menu Close icon
Donate

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Pro Bono Program
    • Creative Council
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
    • Global Advocacy
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift Now
    • Be a Champion
    • Join the Advocates Council
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Give Through Your Donor-Advised Fund
    • Make a Gift In Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Leave a Legacy
    • More Ways to Give
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Related Content

Issues:

Abortion, Legal Protections, Legal Restrictions

Regions:

Europe, Moldova, Accountability Bodies, European Human Rights System

Work:

In the Courts, Engaging Policymakers, Around the World

Case Archive

For updates on Center cases, explore our case archive here.

Follow the Center

Donate Now

Join Now

02.17.2012

In the Courts Abortion Europe

Moldovan Woman Imprisoned for Abortion Pardoned and Freed

Justin Goldberg

Share this Story

  • facebook
  • Twitter
  • linkedin
  • Email id
Center for Reproductive Rights applauds her release, but calls for significant reform in Moldovan policies on sexual and reproductive rights

(PRESS RELEASE) In a highly-anticipated decision, the Moldovan Pardoning Commission finally granted pardon to Z., a young woman who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for having an abortion at home—despite the fact that there is no criminal punishment in Moldovan law for women who have illegal abortions, and her conviction proceedings were marred by clear evidence of discrimination against women.
 
The Center for Reproductive Rights and its local partners commended the commission’s decision, but also called for substantial reform in Moldova’s policies on sexual and reproductive rights, highlighting the critically low quality of abortion care and high instance of discrimination against women who seek post-abortion care in Moldova. Z. was released on January 31.
 
“After five years of wrongful imprisonment, Z. is finally able to begin putting her life back together after suffering this grave injustice by her own country,” said Johanna Westeson, Regional Director for Europe at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “While we are pleased Z. has finally been released from prison, she still must be fully exonerated, and her pardon does not absolve the state of its responsibility to redress the injustices and harms Z. has suffered.
 
“Z.’s case clearly illustrates the need for comprehensive reform in the areas of sexual and reproductive rights in Moldova, as well as an urgent need to combat discrimination of women and degrading treatment on gender grounds in legal proceedings.”
 
Z. was arrested in 2006 after she sought emergency care at a hospital due to complications from having an abortion at home late in her pregnancy. Not only was she charged with intentional and premeditated murder, but while awaiting trial in prison, she was denied post-abortion care and humiliated by male prison guards, and endured discriminatory remarks against her.
 
Moldovan law allows women to receive abortion services without restriction through 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to 21 weeks under special medical and social circumstances. Additionally, there is no criminal penalty for women who seek or obtain an illegal abortion. Nevertheless, Z. was charged with intentional murder and received a shocking 20-year sentence.
 
In February 2009, the Center and its partner organization, the Moldovan Institute for Human Rights (IDOM), filed a complaint on behalf of Z. against Moldova before the European Court of Human Rights. The complaint charges that Moldova violated a number of Z.’s rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights—including the right to liberty, security, a fair trial, as well as the right to be free from inhuman and degrading treatment, not to be convicted for a crime and punished with no basis in law, and not to be discriminated against based on sex. The case of Z. is currently pending before the European Court.The Center for Reproductive Rights continues to fight for justice in this case, as well as for reforms to ensure full compliance with Moldova’s international human rights obligations. The case aims to ensure that women who undergo illegal abortions are not treated as criminals—and to establish post-abortion care an essential component of healthcare that should be provided in all settings, including prisons.
 
“The Moldovan government must condemn any discrimination by law enforcement, and enact laws to prevent and punish such harmful acts against women,” said Westeson.

Related Posts

Complaint: Medical Students for Choice vs. Wright

Abortion,United States, Accountability Bodies,Engaging Policymakers

Decision: Amanda Mellet v. Ireland

Abortion, Legal Restrictions,Europe, Ireland,In the Courts, At the United Nations

Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole: Amicus Brief from the Honorable Wendy Davis, Teresa Fedor, Lucy Flores, and Judy Nicastro

Abortion, Legal Restrictions,United States, Accountability Bodies, African Human Rights System,In the Courts

Sign up for email updates.

The most up-to-date news on reproductive rights, delivered straight to you.

Footer Menu

  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

Center for Reproductive Rights
© (1992-2022)

Use of this site signifies agreement with our disclaimer and privacy policy.

Center for Reproductive Rights
This site uses necessary, analytics and social media cookies to improve your experience and deliver targeted advertising. Click "Options" or click here to learn more and customize your cookie settings, otherwise please click "Accept" to proceed.
OPTIONSACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-6619340-11 minuteNo description
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
_parsely_session30 minutesThis cookie is used to track the behavior of a user within the current session.
HotJar: _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjFirstSeen30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjid1 yearThis cookie is set by Hotjar. This cookie is set when the customer first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the random user ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID.
HotJar: _hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjTLDTestsessionNo description
SSCVER1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for online advertising by creating user profile based on their preferences.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
fr3 monthsThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
IMRID1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for storing the start and end of the user session for nielsen statistics. It helps in consumer profiling for online advertising.
personalization_id2 yearsThis cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting.
TDID1 yearThe cookie is set by CloudFare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
adEdition1 dayNo description
akaas_MSNBC10 daysNo description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearNo description
geoEdition1 dayNo description
next-i18next1 yearNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
Scroll Up