Denmark raises abortion limit from 12 to 18 weeks

Ritzau/The Local - news@thelocal.dk
24 Apr, 2025

Denmark’s parliament on Thursday adopted a proposal to raise the abortion limit from 12 to 18 weeks in a vote which caused at least one lawmaker to break with his own party.

The bill was tabled by Minister for the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde of the Liberal (Venstre) party, who described it ahead of Thursday’s vote as a “huge victory” for women in Denmark.

Continued: https://www.thelocal.dk/20250424/denmark-raises-abortion-limit-from-12-to-18-weeks

25.04.2025

News

abortion law reform

Helena Artmann Andresen

Lars Christian Lilleholt

Denmark to liberalize its abortion law to allow the procedure until 18th week of pregnancy

By Jan M. Olsen, The Associated Press
May 3, 2024

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s government said Friday it is relaxing its restrictions on abortion for the first time in 50 years to make it legal for women to terminate pregnancies up to the 18th week from the previous 12th week.

Officials said the law will also be changed to allow girls between 15 and 17 years old to have an abortion without parental consent.

Continued: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/05/03/denmark-to-liberalize-its-abortion-law-to-allow-the-procedure-until-18th-week-of-pregnancy/

03.05.2024

News

abortion law reform

Danish Health Data Authority

Socialist People’s Party

Indigenous women in Greenland sue Denmark over involuntary contraception in the 1960s and 1970s

By Jan M. Olsen, The Associated Press
Mar 4, 2024

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A group of Indigenous women in Greenland has sued Denmark for forcing them to be fitted with intrauterine contraceptive devices in the 1960s and 1970s and demanded total compensation of nearly 43 million kroner ($6.3 million), their lawyer said Monday.

The 143 Inuit women say Danish health authorities violated their human rights when they fitted them with the devices, commonly known as coils. Some of the women — including many who were teenagers at the time — were not aware of what happened or did not consent to the intervention.

Continued: https://halifax.citynews.ca/2024/03/04/indigenous-women-in-greenland-sue-denmark-over-involuntary-contraception-in-the-1960s-and-70s/

04.03.2024

Danish teenager soon can go for abortion at 15

The age limit for abortion should be lowered from 18 to 15, says the Danish government. According to critics, this proposal drives parents to the sidelines. "Parents have to be involved."

30-05-2023
CNE.news

It has been fifty years since Denmark legalised abortion. And on that 50th anniversary, Marie Bjerre, the Minister for Equality, announced that the age limit for abortion without parental consent would be lowered from 18 to 15. "The government wants young women to be able to decide over their own bodies and lives. They must be able to make the choice themselves about whether to have an abortion."

Various people welcomed Bjerre's statement. Charlotte Wilken-Jensen, a chief physician at an obstetrics department, believes that it is a "crazy good idea": "We have a society where the sexual minimum age is 15, and to imagine that young people, who can have sex with each other quite legitimately, cannot also have the right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, does not add up."

Continued: https://cne.news/article/3124-danish-teenager-soon-can-go-for-abortion-at-15

30.05.2023

News

. Charlotte Wilken-Jensen

age limit for abortion

Marie Bjerre

Øjvind Lidegaard

parental consent for abortion

parental involvement for abortion

Denmark to review its abortion limits

Abortion has been high up the agenda worldwide for years now. Therefore, the Danish Ethics Council will now review the current abortion limit in the country.

12-12-2022
CNE.news

Currently, women can get an abortion up to 12 weeks, making Denmark one of the most restrictive time limits for abortion in Western Europe. The Danish abortion limit was set over 50 years ago. The Ethics Council has not looked at the abortion rules since 2007, and now it is time for a review, the Council believes. This reports the Christian Danish daily Kristeligt Dagblad.

The Council will hold discussions on the subject with health and ethical experts. According to Kristeligt Dagblad, everything is at stake. "The recommendation can thus end up in a recommendation for a more restrictive, more lenient or the same time limit as now."

Continued: https://cne.news/artikel/2197-denmark-to-review-its-abortion-limits

12.12.2022

Greenland – ‘Doctors fitted a contraceptive coil without my consent’

Dec 7, 2022
By Elaine Jung, BBC World Service

Thousands of women in Greenland, including some as young as 12, had a contraceptive device implanted in their womb - often without consent - as part of a Danish campaign to control Greenland's growing Inuit population in the 60s and 70s.

The Danish government has announced an independent investigation into this so-called "Coil Campaign". But the BBC has gathered accounts from women about recent involuntary contraception, amid growing calls for the investigation to go further.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63863088

Abortion Without Borders thrilled that Denmark is considering helping Polish people access abortions abroad

Published on July 20, 2021
Abortion Without Borders

Danish press reported that political parties the Red-Green Alliance and the Social Liberal Party want the Danish state to allocate DKK20 million (over €2.7 million) over four years to help people from Poland to have abortions in Denmark. If all goes to plan, the DKK20 million will go to the organisation Sex & Society, which – in cooperation with the international network Abortion Without Borders – will make abortion accessible to about 165 people per year. The proposal was also supported by the liberal-conservative Venstre party, currently the largest in opposition.

Denmark allows abortion on request until the twelfth week, unless the life or health of the pregnant person is in danger. This proposal could be particularly helpful for people given diagnoses of foetal abnormality or genetic defects in the second or third trimester of pregnancy – those people who were hit hardest by Poland’s “constitutional tribunal” (pseudo-court) decisions on 22 October 2020.

Continued: https://www.asn.org.uk/abortion-without-borders-thrilled-that-denmark-is-considering-helping-polish-people-access-abortions-abroad/

Crown Princess Mary makes her first official appearance of 2021 with a searing message
The Danish royal is ready to tackle another year.

JAN 20, 2021
JESS PULLAR

Crown Princess Mary has kicked off the year with a stirring message for
followers of the Danish Royal Palace.

Sharing an image of Mary working from her residence in Denmark, our first
glimpse of Mary in 2021 proved just because she's not as publicly present these
days doesn't mean she's no less busy.

Continued: https://www.nowtolove.com.au/royals/international-royals/princess-mary-female-empowerment-66532

21.01.2021

News

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

ICPD25 High Level Commission

There is no link between abortion and women taking their own lives, study finds

There is no link between abortion and women taking their own lives, study finds
Data from over 520,000 women showed no positive correlation

Moya Lothian-McLean
Nov 22, 2019

Having an abortion does not increase women’s risk of suicide, a new study has found.

Despite the lack of scientific evidence, links between abortion and suicide have been used by legislatures to push for stricter abortion law.

For example, US state South Dakota, has a provision within its abortion law that states physicians must warn women seeking terminations - in writing - about an increased risk of suicide if they go ahead with the procedure.

Continued: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/abortion-suicide-link-denmark-mental-health-a9213911.html

22.11.2019

abortion does not lead to suicide

Julia R. Steinberg

mental health and abortion

mental health consequences of abortion

Denmark

Global

Health

How Europe Feels About Abortion

How Europe Feels About Abortion

Niall McCarthy
May 30, 2018

Ireland has made history by voting to repeal its ban on abortion. The Yes campaign won with 66.4 percent with all but one of the country's constituencies voting to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the constitution. The result underscores the findings of a recent Pew Research Center report which also put Irish support for abortion at 66 percent.

As can be seen from the following infographic which is based on the report's findings, Ireland's historic vote puts it in line with the rest of Western Europe on support for abortion. Net favourability is strongest in Northern Europe at 94 and 92 percent in Sweden and Denmark respectively. Portugal has the strongest level of opposition at 34 percent.

You will find more infographics at Statista