Legal conditions

• Written consent by the woman
• Pre-abortion consultation (legal counselling) + pre-abortion laboratory tests + post-abortion consultation

Mandatory 3-day period between pre-abortion consultation and abortion procedure

• Contraception evoked during at least 1 of the medical consultations.

Specific conditions for minors

• Parent’s (or guardian’s) consent required for minors under 16.

Mandatory pre-abortion examinations

• Blood group and rhesus factor
• Ultrasound

Involved healthcare professionals

• Surgical abortion: obstetrician/gynaecologist (OB/GYN)
• Medical abortion: OB/GYN, another physician or a nurse under physician supervision.

Other information

• All hospitals have the obligation to perform abortion
• Doctors are not allowed to perform abortion in their private practice

Abortion ratio

• 186 abortions per 1,000 live births (2015).

Abortions “on request”

• 96% of abortions were performed “on request” in 2015.
  
  Time of abortion – Missing data.
  
  
  

In 2015, among women who had induced abortion on request:

– 82% were Portuguese
– 30% had at least 1 previous induced abortion
– 58% had at least 1 child.

Women age at first birth

• 30 years of age (2016).

Overall contraception data

• 94% of sexual active women aged 15-49 used a contraceptive method (2015):
  – 58% used oral contraceptives
  – 14% used male condoms
  – 12% used intra-uterine devices (IUD)
  – 5% used implants

Pre-abortion contraception – Missing data.

Contraception during abortion process

• 96% of women who had abortion on request had a contraceptive method prescribed during abortion process (2015).
• 35% of women who had abortion on request had long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) prescribed during abortion process (2015).
• LARC is usually placed in abortion facilities:

– IUD is placed 2 to 4 weeks post-abortion visit
– Implant is placed 2 to 4 weeks post-surgical abortion visit or at first medical abortion visit.

• Abortion is taught during health care professionals’ (HCPs’) medical studies.
• All HCPs have the right to conscientiously object; the women are to be referred to another service. The clinic that objected to providing abortion care services has to pay for the abortion.
• Surgical and medical abortions are free of charge for resident women, for non-resident women coming from European countries, and for women from other countries having political and diplomatic relations with Portugal.