Constitutional Court president Miroslav Separovic said on Tuesday that parliament had still not acted on the court's decision regarding a new abortion law and called for its adoption.

In February 2017, the Constitutional Court found that the law from 1978 regulating pregnancy termination, which is currently in force, is in line with the Croatian Constitution, Separovic told N1.

The court had then ordered the parliament to adopt a new law within two years, which would stipulate educational and preventive measures in order to make pregnancy termination an exception, as the valid law is obsolete and was passed in the previous political and social system, he added.

Under the law currently in force, abortion in Croatia is legal until 10 weeks following conception, and afterwards in specific circumstances, including cases in which the mother’s life is in danger, the child is likely to be born with serious defects, or when conception was the result of a criminal act.

However, medical staff in Croatia have the right to conscientious objection, which means that abortion is hard to obtain in some hospitals in the country.

The fact that parliament has still not executed the court’s decision (on passing a new law) is not a good message, given that the court’s decisions are mandatory, he said.

Therefore, the Constitutional Court expects its decision to be executed and parliament to adopt a new law which will be in line with the court’s findings, he added.