The Dutch approach to abortion: leading or lagging in guaranteeing women’s rights?

28 SEP 2020
By Lisa Juanola, KIT SRHR Advisor and Irene de Vries, KIT Advisor on SRHR, Maternal and Newborn Care.

Internationally, the fight for the right to safe and legal abortion is ongoing. The Netherlands is blessed with liberal laws and good access to safe abortion care, meaning it often serves as an example. The Netherlands is also a leading country when it comes to women’s rights and reproductive health. However, things could be even better and more women-friendly. What does The Netherlands have to offer in the global fight for safe and legal abortion, and what can we learn from international developments in this field?

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.

Continued: https://www.kit.nl/the-dutch-approach-to-abortion-leading-or-lagging-in-guaranteeing-womens-rights/

Ireland: Experts challenged at Eighth Amendment committee over Dutch abortion laws

Experts challenged at Eighth Amendment committee over Dutch abortion laws
Updated / Thursday, 23 Nov 2017

The number of babies born with Down Syndrome in the Netherlands has not decreased with the introduction of prenatal screening, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

That is according to Eva Pajkrt, a Professor of Obstetrics at the University of Amsterdam, who is before the Oireachtas Eighth Amendment Committee.

She was addressing concerns expressed by Fine Gael TD Peter Fitzpatrick that screening would result in fewer babies with Down Syndrome being born.

Continued at source: https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2017/1123/922355-abortion-committee/