November 12, 2024
abortion netherlands

Abortion in the Netherlands

Abortion in the Netherlands was fully legalized on November 1, 1984, allowing abortions to be done on-demand until the 21st week.[1] Abortion for medical reasons can be performed until 24 weeks.[1] There is a five-day waiting period for abortions.

Abortion was deemed illegal under the Penal Code of 1886. Convictions were all but precluded, however, by a requirement that the prosecution prove that the fetus had been alive until the abortion. The Morality Acts of 1911 closed this loophole, and strictly barred all abortions, except those performed to save the life of the pregnant woman.

Legalization reached the forefront of public debate in the Netherlands during the 1970s as many other Western European countries liberalized their laws. The Staten-Generaal, however, was unable to reach a consensus between those opposing legalization, those in favor of allowing abortion, and those favoring a compromise measure.

Contraception in The Netherlands: the low abortion rate explained

This article gives a review of the main factors that are related to the low abortion rate in the Netherlands. Attention is payed to figures on abortion and the use of contraceptive methods since the beginning of the 1960s up to the end of the 1980s. 

The strong acceptance of family planning was influenced by changing values regarding sexuality and the family, the transition from an agricultural to a modern industrial society, rapid economic growth, declining influence of the churches on daily life, introduction of modern mass media and the increased general educational level.

PIP: People in the Netherlands consider unplanned pregnancy to be a large problem that society and decision-makers should and do seriously address. The abortion rate fluctuates between 5 to 7/1000 women of reproductive age, the lowest abortion rate in the world. 

The Netherlands shows the positive effects of a well-functioning law on abortions

As an evaluation shows, the Dutch ‘Termination of Pregnancy Act’ is working well. The number of terminations is stable at around 8.6 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 45, and the Netherlands has one of the lowest rates of abortion in the world. The percentage of unsafe abortions is not reported, in part because they are rarely seen in practice. The low figures are not only a consequence of liberal laws and access to safe abortion care but also the provision of comprehensive sexuality education and the widespread availability of contraception for all age groups.

In our work at the international level, we see that restrictive laws do not reduce the total number of abortions, but only increase the risk of unsafe abortion. Despite this fact, the legalisation of abortion seems unrealisable in many places. Advocacy for legal abortion is complex, partly because of safety risks. However, we must continue to gather the evidence from experts and countries that shows why legality is a necessity to promote women’s health and is a matter of human rights.

The central role of caregivers in accessing abortion care in Netherlands

Both in the Netherlands and in other countries, we see that liberal laws do not always guarantee access to safe abortion. One of the factors that plays a role in this is that referral to the right care does not always go as expected, partly due to ignorance, but often also because of the negative attitude towards abortion on the part of the care providers. In the Netherlands, 10 per cent of general practitioners surveyed said that they do not want to refer for abortion care as a matter of principle. The international consensus on conscientious objection prescribes that every woman has the right to unbiased and objective information, care and referral and that this right takes precedence over the objections of the care provider.

Women’s freedom of choice

In many countries, additional legal obligations lead to unnecessarily complicated and lengthy procedures in order to obtain the right care, such as judicial authorisation for abortion in the case of rape or approval of a medical committee for a therapeutic abortion. In the Netherlands, a legal cooling-off period of five days is also an example of this, as was also established in the evaluation of the ‘Termination of Pregnancy Act’.

Internationally, this long cooling-off period is unique and is seen as a burden for women who have often already been through an extensive decision and/or referral process. In all countries where we work, better information on how women can access abortion care is necessary. In countries with restrictive laws, women often do not know under what circumstances abortion is allowed. In the Netherlands, many women do not realise that they can go directly to an abortion clinic without a referral.

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