We can only answer this question based on our own personal experience and observations. We don't pretend to have completed a thorough sociological study of this problem; however, we do speak from our close relationship with Romanian workers who see the problem every day.
Child abandonment in Romania has been a problem for decades, although it only came to the world's (and the average Romanian's) attention after the fall of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Ceausescu's brutal regime did much to create the conditions which have led to so many children being abandoned.
Most observers will mention that Ceausescu's regime, besides creating widespread poverty, fear, and ignorance, also outlawed birth control and abortion. And indeed, the illegality of birth control certainly contributed to the problem among the needy people of Romania, especially the impoverished Gypsy population. However, we believe that it is absolutely faulty to suggest that legalized abortion is the solution to child abandonment. Abortion and birth control have been legal in Romania for over a decade now (in fact, Romania has one of the highest abortion rates in Europe), and yet the epidemic of child abandonment continues unabated.
We believe that the problem of child abandonment is caused by a number of factors, chiefly poverty and ignorance among the ethnic Roma population. The average Romanian family does not practice child abandonment, but it remains epidemic among many Roma communities. In order to truly address child abandonment, widespread societal changes must occur to bring the Roma from the margins into full society, to alleviate their poverty, and to provide them with education and opportunities. In many ways, the root of the cause is spiritual and will only be address through revival.