Young People Must Pay Out of Their Own Pockets

The city of Vienna has good reason to be proud of all the services it provides underage mothers and their children. A large amount of funding and personnel is justified for this purpose, so they can deal with their personal crises and gain control over their lives.

At the same time, it would be even better if girls never faced the problem of becoming a mother and having to assume responsibility for another life, and instead could enjoy their youth and finish school or training with as few obstacles as possible.

The most important tools for preventing teenage pregnancy are information and education. Fortunately, large numbers of students, apprentices and other young people visit the Museum of Contraception and Abortion (MUVS), located near Vienna’s western railway station, which provides information about the subject in a competent and non-judgmental way. Our young visitors must pay for admission and tours out of their own pockets, as neither the city, municipal board of education nor any other public source helps fund this private museum. Some 400 young people participate in tours each month.

The amount of money that the public sector would save if the museum received financing can be estimated easily: each year, about 180 young girls get pregnant in Vienna alone, and the expenditures required to meet their needs, according to the child welfare office, are growing rapidly.