The rise of the Czech Republic’s anti-abortion movement

As debate over abortion roars elsewhere, Prague is now faced with own simmering culture war

People in Prague take part in a solidarity gathering for reproductive, women’s and human rights in Poland (EPA-EFE)

Progressives heralded the start of a new era when the Czech Republic replaced a populist regime with a pro-EU government in elections last October. Yet strong currents of social conservatism are now emerging under the new coalition, leading rights campaigners to draw uneasy parallels with regional allies Poland and Hungary.

A simmering culture war burst into the open in April, when the anti-abortion Movement for Life caused an outcry with a now-deleted Facebook post suggesting Ukrainian women raped by Russian soldiers should be sent self-defence equipment instead of the morning-after pill.

“Why don’t Czechs contribute to the purchase of air horns, pepper spray or electric stun guns instead?” it complained.