Hungary’s nurses receive life-affirming training to help pregnant women

National Nursing Week kicks off May 6th with National Nurses Day and closes on the 12th with International Nurses Day, commemorating the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. This International Nurses Day, Human Life International (HLI) is celebrating two years of a successful outreach program that “provides 4,000 registered nurses working for the National Directorate of Hospitals in Hungary with life affirming education and resources for helping expectant mothers,” according to a press release. 

HLI’s work fills a desperate need, remedying a marked discrepancy between Hungary’s pro-life Constitution and a boots-on-the-ground reality of deeply entrenched cultural acceptance of abortion. HLI observed that under the Communist regime, “abortion became the primary means of birth control. And for more than 30 years, the socialist government’s public health agency promoted and funded abortion in the traditionally Catholic nation” before ratifying a pro-life Constitution in 2011, and, with HLI’s guidance, passing a “heartbeat law” in 2022.

HLI observed that now, “Hungary’s abortion law requires the [Family Protection Service] department midwives to inform pregnant women at risk of abortion about organizations that provide support to expectant and new mothers and their children.” 

However, in the context of 40,000 abortions per year on average in that country, tragically “only two referrals to the life-affirming groups have ever been made by Family Protection Service.” 

Dr. Imre Téglásy, HLI Hungary’s director and himself an abortion survivor, in partnership with the National Hospital Directorate, launched a campaign to directly educate and equip the nation’s 4,000-strong cadre of nurses with life-affirming resources and physical items. HLI reported “50 pro-life mentors encourage these government-employed RNs in life advocacy, and they share with these nurses an array of brochures about childbirth and abortion risks, along with life-sized fetal development models an expectant mother can hold in her hands. These nurses are given prenatal vitamins, baby items such as clothing, car seats, and toys, to pass on to their pregnant patients, along with a directory of shelters and safe havens for women and children.” 

Florence Nightingale is quoted as saying, “Live life when you have it. Life is a splendid gift—there’s nothing small about it.” 

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