Everything about Abortion In The Netherlands totally explained
Abortion in the Netherlands is currently legal on demand with a five-day waiting period.
History
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. A controversial
abortion law was passed in
1981 with single swing votes: 76 pro and 74 against in the Second Chamber and 38 pro and 37 against in the First Chamber. The law left abortion a crime, unless performed at a clinic or hospital that's issued an official abortion certificate by the Dutch government, and the woman who is asking for the abortion declares she considers it an emergency situation.
Currently, there are a little over one hundred Dutch general hospitals certified to perform abortions, and seventeen specialized abortion clinics. More than 90% of abortions take place in the specialised clinics.
In the Netherlands, abortion performed by a certified clinic or hospital is effectually allowed at any point between
conception and
viability, subject to counseling and a five-day waiting period. After the first pregnancy trimester procedure becomes stricter as two doctors have to decide. In practice, abortions are performed until approximately 24 weeks into pregnancy, although this limit is the topic of ongoing discussion among physicians in the Netherlands, since, due to recent medical advancements, a fetus may sometimes considered viable prior to 24 weeks. As a result of this debate, abortions are only rarely performed after 22 weeks of pregnancy. Abortions after the first
trimester must be performed in a
hospital.
The number of abortions has gradually risen since the first full year of enactment in 1985. In 2004 1 in 8 pregnancies ended with an abortion. The abortion figure is a low 8.7 for every 1000 women, between 33% and 50% of the figure in many European and North-American countries.
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