Mesures natalistes et relèvement de la fécondité en Europe de l'Est

Pressât Roland. ? Measures to promote the Birth Rate and the Rise in Fertility in Eastern Europe. Liberal legislation relating to abortion has contributed to fertility decline in the Socialist countries of Europe. Although fertility has not fallen to the low levels experienced in some Western European countries, the decline has, nonetheless, led to a reaction on the part of governments. This has usually taken the form of restricting the availability of abortion and of attempting to raise fhe birth rate. The relative importance of these two kinds of measure has been different in different countries. Reactions to these measures in six countries is studied in this paper (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania). This survey is made easier because the action taken is normally selective, aiming at encouraging the birth of children of a given order (most frequently the second or third child). Altogether, the effects seem to be transitory and the results seem to reflect mainly an anticipation of births, rather than an increase in the completed size of family.