NEW 2020 DATA
Abortion legislation | Practical conditions | Abortion statistics
Characteristics of women having induced abortion | Fertility and contraception data | Country-specific characteristics
Law on termination of pregnancy, 1 May 1981
Decree of 17 May 1984 laying down provisions for the implementation of the law


Legal conditions
- Mandatory 5-day waiting period between pre-abortion consultation and abortion procedure (after 44 days after LMP)
- Contraception to be evoked during at least one of the medical consultations
Specific conditions for minors
- Parent’s (or guardian’s) consent mandatory for minors under 12
- Parent’s (or guardian’s) consent required for minors between 12 and 16 except under special circumstances (in that case, the young girl should contact her GP or a doctor at an abortion clinic who will decide whether the girl is able to make a well-considered decision)
- Parent’s (or guardian’s) consent required for minors between 16 and 18 only if the doctor decides that the young girl is unable to make a well-considered decision on her own.
- Parent’s (or guardian’s) consent required for minors under 18
Abortion legislation | Practical conditions | Abortion statistics | Characteristics of women having induced abortion
Fertility and contraception data | Country-specific characteristics


Mandatory pre-abortion examinations
- Missing data
Involved healthcare professionals
- Surgical abortion: obstetricians/gynaecologists (OB/GYN) or another physician trained in abortion care
- Medical abortion: OB/GYN or another physician trained in abortion care
Abortion legislation | Practical conditions | Abortion statistics | Characteristics of women having induced abortion
Fertility and contraception data | Country-specific characteristics
- Both surgical and medical abortions are free of charge for resident women.
- Healthcare professionals have the right to conscientiously object but they are required to inform the patient without delay and provide referral.
The slides presented are freely accessible. They may be used, copied, displayed or distributed provided that their source is given
SOURCES
IPPF European Network – Updated January 2012 (http://www.ippfen.org/)
https://www.igj.nl/actueel/nieuws/2021/12/09/minder-abortussen-in-2020
https://www.igj.nl/publicaties/rapporten/2021/12/09/jaarrapportage-2020-wet-afbreking-zwangerschap
https://www.igj.nl/over-ons/igj-in-cijfers/cijfers-zwangerschapsafbreking
https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/NLD/netherlands/fertility-rate
https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/figures/detail/37422eng?q=births
We thank Dr. Monique OPHEIJ for her help in data collection.
If you have additional data or if you would like to comment some information, please contact info@exelgyn.com.
Page updated in January 2022