Part 4/10:
One of Ceaușescu's first groundbreaking policies, the 770 demographic decree, sought to bolster the Romanian population by outlawing abortion and restricting birth control. This initiative, initially praised for increasing birth rates, spiraled into an unmitigated disaster as women resorted to unsafe illegal abortion methods. Tragically, more than 9,000 women died as a result of these complications, and thousands of children were abandoned, becoming vulnerable to a grim fate in poorly run orphanages, where abuse and neglect were rampant. Even as Ceaușescu pursued growth with this demographic policy, the long-lasting trauma it inflicted on Romanian families would echo for generations.