After becoming the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic on 21 July 1940, Lithuania followed the abortions laws of the Soviet Union. On 27 June 1936, the Soviet Union banned abortions unless there was a danger to the life of the mother or the child would inherit a serious disease from the parents. Under this law abortions were meant to be performed in maternity homes and hospitals, and physicians who disregarded this risked one to two years' imprisonment.[1]