The establishment of the Day of the Unborn Child was announced by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece in a decision taken on 9 July 2019, which is officially taking a stand against abortions.
As stated in the relevant circular, this decision was taken to protect the child and to solve the country’s demographic problem. The Day of the Unborn Child is set for the first Sunday after Christmas.
The movement 'Let me live,' that took the initiative, has announced: “We received the decision of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, to establish the first Sunday after Christmas as a day dedicated to the protection of the life of the unborn child, with feelings of joy and gratitude.
Our movement, 'Let me live,' faithful to the Gospel and the tradition of the Orthodox Church, proclaims the truth that the unborn child is a person, the image of God, since the beginning of conception, and is fighting for the protection of the child’s life without terms and conditions.”
Abortion in Greece has been fully legalized since 1986, when law 1609/1986 was passed effective from 3 July 1986, though it was regularly practiced before this time. The Church of Greece opposed it at the time, but it had strong support from the ruling socialist party. Abortions can be performed on-demand in hospitals for women whose pregnancies have not exceeded twelve weeks. In the case of rape or incest, an abortion can occur as late as nineteen weeks, and as late as twenty-four weeks in the case of fetal abnormalities. In case of inevitable risk to the life of the pregnant woman or a risk of serious and continuous damage to her physical or mental health, termination of pregnancy is legal any time before birth. Girls under the age of 18 must get written permission from a parent or guardian before being allowed an abortion.
An average of 150,000 abortions per year take place in Greece. 50% of abortions in Greece are performed on underage girls.