Bratislava

Slovakia / Bratislava

OVERVIEW

Contraception (Birth Control)

General Note: There are many types of contraceptives, also known as "birth control," including IUDs, oral contraceptives, patches, shots, and condoms, etc. If you would like to view a full list, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Slovakia, you can purchase condoms without a prescription at pharmacies. However, you need a prescription to obtain most other forms of contraception, such as birth control pills, implants, injectables, and IUDs.

Emergency Contraception (Morning After Pill)

Important Notes: Emergency contraception may prevent pregnancy for three days (72 hours) and sometimes five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex. Take EC as soon as possible after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. If you don't have access to dedicated EC, oral contraceptives can be used as replacement EC, but remember the following: 1) Only some contraceptives work as EC 2) Different contraceptives require different dosages and time schedules to work as EC 3) You must only use the first 21 pills in 28-day packs and 4) They may be less effective than dedicated EC. For general information on emergency contraceptives, click here and here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Slovakia, emergency contraceptive pills (morning after pills) are available over-the-counter at pharmacies. No prescription is required.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• You can find emergency contraceptive pills (morning after pills) at pharmacies, and they are sold over-the-counter. There are both LNG andUPA types of pills available. Some brands you may find are Escapelle and ellaOne.
• Note: The longest-lasting EC is currently ellaOne. It lasts up to 5 days (120 hours) after unprotected sex. Check to see if your country carries ellaOne. If your country doesn't carry ellaOne, copper IUDs may also prevent pregnancy up to 5 days after unprotected sex. If none of these options are available, and it's been over 3 days since you had unprotected sex, you can still take EC, which may work up to 5 days. Note that EC pills are not 100% effective and should be taken as soon as possible.

Costs

• You can expect to pay around € 22 for LNG pills, like Escapelle, and € 27 for UPA pills, like ellaOne, as of 2016.
• The costs of emergency contraceptive pills are not reimbursed by social security in Slovakia.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs/STDs)

Important Notes - Learn about PEP and PrEP: If you think that you've been recently exposed to HIV (i.e. within 72 hours), seek out PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a month-long treatment to prevent HIV infection after exposure, and it may be available in your city. Take PEP as soon as possible. For more information, click here. If you are at risk of HIV exposure, seek out PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a daily oral pill that can prevent HIV infection before exposure. To learn more about PrEP, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Slovakia, there are no known travel or residency restrictions for people with HIV/AIDS. This means that you can enter the country, regardless of your HIV status, and you should not be deported if you test positive for HIV while you are in the country.

Testing Facilities

Support

• From HIVTravel: "Foreigners with health insurance and who are interested in getting treatment have free access to the treatment facilities. The quality of treatment meets Western European standards. There are 3 clinical treatment centres in Slovakia (Bratislava, Banská Bystrica, Košice)."
• Narodné referencné centrum pre prevenciu HIV a Aids (League against AIDS - Institute of Preventive and Clinical Medicine): This is the National Centre for AIDS prevention in Slovakia (Narodné referencné centrum pre prevenciu HIV a Aids), which is part of the Institute for Preventive and Clinical Medicine (Ústav preventívnej a klinickej medicíny). The head doctor is Dr. Danica Staneková, PHD. Address: Limbová ul. 14, 833 01 Bratislava. Phone: +421 2 5936 9172. Fax: +421 2 5936 9587. E-mail: stanek@upkm.sk
• Clinic for the Dispensarisation of patients with HIV/AIDS: Teaching Hospital for Infectiology and Geographical Medicine; Dérer`s Hospital with policlinic. Address: 80 000 Bratislava, Limbová ul. 5, Slovak Republic

Menstruation

Note: In addition to pads and tampons, you can also use menstrual cups and menstrual underwear for your period. To learn more about menstrual cups, click here. To learn more about menstrual underwear, click here.

Abortion

Important Note: There are two main types of abortions: medical (also known as the "abortion pill") and surgical (also known as "in-clinic"). For medical abortions, you take a pill to induce abortion. For surgical abortions, a procedure is performed to induce abortion. For general information about medical and surgical abortions, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Slovakia, abortion is legally permitted for up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. After this time, abortion is legally permitted in certain scenarios, which include the following: when the pregnancy endangers the life of the pregnant person, when there is risk to the health of the fetus, or when genetic anomalies are detected in the fetus. For people under 16 years old, parental approval is required in order to receive an abortion.

The abortion laws of Slovakia can be found in the Penal Code, originally written in 1986 and amended in 1991. To read the full Penal Code, you can click here.

List of Additional Resources

• Ministerstvo zdravotníctva Slovenskej republiky (Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic)
• Slovak Family Planning Association: "The Slovak Family Planning Association (Slovak FPA), Spoločnosť pre plánované rodičovstvo, is an organization comprising physicians, nurses, teachers, psychologists, journalists and lawyers who work in sexual and reproductive health. Its mission is to promote awareness of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues and to defend the individual’s basic human right to SRH."
• Equaldex - Slovakia: Click here to learn about LGBTQ rights and laws in Slovakia.