On 24 April 2025, Denmark’s parliament adopted a proposal to raise the abortion limit from 12 to 18 weeks. The bill was tabled by Minister for the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde of the Liberal (Venstre) party, who described it ahead of the vote as a “huge victory” for women in Denmark.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also vocally backed the decision. “While others are taking a step backwards, we are taking an important step forward,” she wrote on Facebook, “expanding women’s right to abortion for young girls, for everyone, in terms of the number of weeks, one of the most fundamental rights of all.”
Søren Gade, who is Speaker of parliament and a colleague of Løhde’s in the Liberal party, voted against the proposal. Gade was the only MP from any of the coalition parties to b vote against the bill. It is unusual for Danish lawmakers to defy their party when it comes to a final vote on any bill.
Liberal party parliamentary group leader Lars Christian Lilleholt told newspaper Ekstra Bladet that party members were given permission to vote freely on the day, releasing them from orders to vote along party lines.
The left-wing and centre-left parties Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten), Socialist People’s Party (SF), Alternative, and Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre), all voted in favour, as did Helena Artmann Andresen of the libertarian Liberal Alliance (LA) party, who was alone in supporting the bill among LA members. “It means a lot to me to be part of a party where it’s okay to vote differently on ethical dilemmas,” Andresen wrote on Instagram.
Right-wing and centre-right parties the Danish People’s Party, the Conservatives, and the Denmark Democrats all voted against the bill.
The bill passed with 74 votes in favour and 29 against.
SOURCES: Ritzau/The Local, news@thelocal.dk, 24 April 2025 ; CNE News, 28 September 2023