ZAGREB, June 18, 2020 - Science and Education Minister Blazenka Divjak said on Thursday she was appalled by the statements by Homeland Movement leader Miroslav Skoro and Bridge's election candidate Nino Raspudic about abortion.
"I am appalled by the recent discussions and statements by Mr. Skoro and Mr. Raspudic. Quite clearly, this is the sadistic humiliation of women and their rights and the unacceptable exploitation of painful personal traumas for political purposes," Divjak said in a Facebook post.
She commented on Skoro's statement made during an election debate with the secretary-general of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Gordan Jandrokovic, that "if a woman becomes pregnant after being raped, she should agree with her family what to do next."
"How dare they even think that as men they can tell women how they should feel or think or whose opinion they should ask for in any situation that concerns their lives," the minister said, adding that these are not messages that should be addressed to young people in 2020.
"Croatia, as I see it, is open, sympathetic and tolerant and not one where questions are raised about whether women can make rational decisions," she wrote.
