1980s–1990s Romanian orphans phenomenon

Its effectiveness led to an increase in birth rates at the expense of adequate family planning and reproductive rights.

A series of international and governmental interventions have taken place since the 1990s to improve the conditions in orphanages and reform the country's child protection system.

[1] In October 1966, Decree 770 was enacted, which banned abortion except in cases in which the mother was over forty years of age or already had four children in care.

[1] Children born in these years are popularly known as decreței, from the diminutive of the Romanian language word "decret", meaning "decree".

This increase in the number of births resulted in many children being abandoned in orphanages, which were also occupied by people with disabilities and mental illnesses.

The conditions in orphanages had declined after 1982, as a result of Ceauşescu's decision to seize much of the country's economic output in order to repay its foreign debt.

[citation needed] Because the staff had failed to put clothes on them, the children would spend their day naked and be left sitting in their own feces and urine.

[5] The true number of children who lived in orphanages during the communist era is not known, due to the fact that it is not possible to obtain reliable data on practices and policies that took place under the regime.

Some ran away or were thrown out of orphanages or abusive homes, and were often seen begging, inhaling 'aurolac' from sniffing bags, and roaming around the Bucharest Metro.

The ban was passed under pressure from the EU, which Romania later joined in January 2007, in order to curb the abuses of the system.

[9] As the realities of life in Romanian orphanages emerged after December 1989, the reaction outside Romania was of shock at the plight of the orphans, and numerous charities were established.

[10] Numerous fund-raising activities have been conducted by various parties, such as the 1990 album Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal, which was compiled by George and Olivia Harrison for AIDS-infected orphans.

The institutions housed adults at this time, who did not get adequate medical attention as they suffered injuries and physical problems due to improper care.

[6] According to Jon Hamilton, "A lot of what scientists know about parental bonding and the brain comes from studies of children who spent time in Romanian orphanages during the 1980s and 1990s.