Image: Norwegian Health and Care Minister Jan Christian Vestre attends a press conference at the parliament in Oslo on 23 August 2024, where the government proposal for a new abortion law was presented.
Norway’s government says it wants to relax restrictions on abortion for the first time in nearly half a century to make it legal for women to terminate pregnancies up to the 18th week of gestation
Norway’s laws currently allow legal abortions up to 12 weeks, but many pregnant women ask for an abortion after the 12th week and are granted it in hospitals and clinics.
The proposed changes are “in line with practice today. Almost no one is refused applications for abortion after the 12th week,” Norwegian Health Minister Jan Christian Vestre said. He said that “women’s right to self-determined abortion is a fundamental value in Norway.”
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said abortion rate has remained “historically low for several years” at about 12,000 each year, but began to rise in 2022. Last year there were some 12,814 pregnancy terminations in Norway, a 6.7% increase from 2022, figures show. The agency said that 8 out of 10 abortions take place before the ninth week, and nine out of 10 abortions are with medication.
Free abortion was introduced in Norway in 1978 and women can opt for a surgical or medical abortion. “Society has changed significantly since the 1970s,” Vestre told a press conference.
The law proposal needs a majority – 85 votes – in the 169-member parliament. By 23 August, some 80 lawmakers had said they would vote in favour of the new law. It was not yet clear when a vote would be held. The Center Party, which holds 28 seats, and is one of the parties in the governing coalition, wants to keep the current limit at 12 weeks.
Family Minister Kjersti Toppe said she hopes that “as many people as possible vote in line with the party line,” but added that the issue was “a matter of conscience” and allows party members to vote against the party’s stance.
SOURCE: ABC News, by Associated Press, 23 August 2024. PHOTO: Thomas Fure/NTB Scanpix via Associated Press