Abortion legislation
Legal conditions
- Written consent by the woman
- Pre-abortion consultation (legal counselling)
- Pre-abortion consultation with a social worker
- Pre-abortion confirmation consultation
- Mandatory 6-day period between counselling and abortion procedure (It can be added to the 14 weeks from LMP limit in case the woman shows late in her pregnancy)
- Contraception evoked during at least 1 of the medical consultations
- Counselling has to be in the same place as abortion.
Specific conditions for minors
- None
Source:
Practical conditions
Mandatory pre-abortion examinations
- None
Involved healthcare professionals
- Surgical abortion: obstetrician/gynaecologist (OB/GYN) or general practitioner (GP)
- Medical abortion: OB/GYN or another physician
Source:
Abortion statistics
Overall number of induced abortions
Source: https://organesdeconcertation.sante.belgique.be/sites/default/files/documents/rapport_2020-2021_fr_-_fevrier_2023.pdf
Abortion ratio per 1.000 live births: ()
Source:
Abortions performed “on request”: % ()
Source:
Overall number of induced abortions vs. medical abortions
Source: https://organesdeconcertation.sante.belgique.be/sites/default/files/documents/rapport_2020-2021_fr_-_fevrier_2023.pdf
Induced abortions per gestational age (2021)
Source: https://organesdeconcertation.sante.belgique.be/sites/default/files/documents/rapport_2020-2021_fr_-_fevrier_2023.pdf
Place of abortion (2021)
Source: https://organesdeconcertation.sante.belgique.be/sites/default/files/documents/rapport_2020-2021_fr_-_fevrier_2023.pdf
Characteristics of women having induced abortion
In 2021, among women who had induced abortion:
- 99% lived in Belgium
- 57% had at least 1 child
Source:
Fertility and contraception
Women age at first birth
- 29.6 years of age (2022)
Overall contraception data
- 56% of women aged 15-49 used a contraceptive method (2021)
- 44% used oral contraceptive
- 2% used intra-uterine device (IUD).
Pre-abortion contraception
- 56% of women had a contraceptive method prescribed during abortion process (2017)
- 1,15 % of women had long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) prescribed during abortion process (2017)
Contraception during abortion process
Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) prescribed during abortion process can be placed in abortion facilities:
- IUDs are placed 0 to 14 days after abortion procedure
- Implants are placed 0 to 14 days after abortion procedure
Source:
Country-specific characteristics
A special thanks to our correspondents for contributing in data collection.
Please contact info@exelgyn.com if you have additional data or would like to comment information
Page last updated: 11 December 2024