Nordic country to allow 15-year-olds to get abortion without parental consent — RT World News
Denmark will also allow pregnancy terminations as late as 18 weeks after conception
The Danish government announced on Friday that it will allow women to terminate their pregnancies up to 18 weeks after conception instead of 12 weeks. The new legislation marks the first time the Scandinavian country has relaxed abortion rules in 50 years.
In addition, girls over the age of 15 will have the right to have an abortion without parental consent. The government lowered the age requirement to keep it in line with the age of consent in the country.
“Choosing to have an abortion is a difficult situation, and I hope young women can get support from their parents. But if there is disagreement, it should ultimately be up to the young woman to decide whether she wants to become a mother.” Marie Pierre, Minister of Digitalization and Gender Equality, said:
Women under 18 are currently allowed to have abortions, but only with parental consent.
The amended health law will enter into force on June 1 of next year.
Denmark was among the first countries in Western Europe to offer free abortions in 1973, but did not allow them until 12 weeks into pregnancy. Now women will be able to terminate their pregnancies cost-free for a longer period of time in Denmark than almost anywhere else in Europe.
According to the Danish Health Data Authority, the number of pregnancies terminated in the country has not increased recently. In 2022, there were 14,700 medical abortions, compared to 14,500 in 2017. The number peaked in 1975, when they were first legalized, at 27,900.
MP Mette Thiessen, from the populist Danish People's Party, expressed her regret over these changes, saying “Terrible day. “It is a terrible new law.” Addressing Danish radio DR, she explained that there is “A very delicate balance between a woman's right to her body, but also the right to life, that little life that lies in the mother's womb.”
In March, France became the first country in the world to constitutionally guarantee that women are able to terminate their pregnancies, making the “right to abortion” in France “irreversible.”
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