Estonia

Abortion legislation

Legislation timeline

1991: abortion is allowed (independence of Estonia)
1998: the Termination of Pregnancy and Sterilization Act is adopted (25 November)
2015: the Termination of Pregnancy and Sterilization Act is amended (02 March)

Source: IPPF European Network - Updated January 2012 (http://www.ippfen.org/), Law (https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/120022015011)

Abortion conditions

Ground	Gestational limit
To save a woman’s life	22 weeks from LMP
Because of foetal impairment	22 weeks from LMP
To preserve a woman’s mental health
To preserve a woman’s physical health
For economic and social reasons
On request	12 weeks from LMP

Source: IPPF European Network - Updated January 2012 (http://www.ippfen.org/), Law (https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/120022015011)

Legal conditions

Written consent by the woman
Pre-abortion consultation (legal counselling)
Pre-abortion laboratory tests

Specific conditions for minors

None

Source:

IPPF European Network – http://www.ippfen.org/

Law – https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/120022015011

Practical conditions

Medical abortion conditions

Place	Prescription	1^st drug taken	2^nd drug taken
OB/GYN department of a hospital/clinic	Yes	Yes	Yes
Another physician office	Yes	Yes*	Yes
Midwife office	No	No	No
Abortion centre/clinic
At home	Yes	No	Yes

Source: Recommendations by guideline of Estonian Gynaecologists Society (http://rasedusekatkestamisejuhend.weebly.com/)

* Outpatient clinic

Mandatory pre-abortion examinations

Blood group and rhesus factor
Ultrasound

Involved healthcare professionals

Surgical abortion: obstetrician/gynaecologist (OB/GYN)
Medical abortion: OB/GYN

Source:

Recommendations by guideline of Estonian Gynaecologists Society – http://rasedusekatkestamisejuhend.weebly.com/

IPPF European Network – http://www.ippfen.org/

Abortion statistics

Abortion rates per 1,000 women aged 15-49

Source: https://statistika.tai.ee/pxweb/en/Andmebaas/Andmebaas__01Rahvastik__03Abordid/?tablelist=true

Overall number of induced abortions

Source: https://statistika.tai.ee/pxweb/en/Andmebaas/Andmebaas__01Rahvastik__03Abordid/?tablelist=true

Abortion ratio per 1.000 live births: 255 (2021)

Source: https://statistika.tai.ee/pxweb/en/Andmebaas/Andmebaas__01Rahvastik__03Abordid/?tablelist=true

Abortions performed “on request”: 95% (2018)

Source: National Institute for Health Development - Estonian Abortion Registry (http://www.tai.ee/en/r-and-d/registers/estonian-medical-birth-registry-and-estonian-abortion-registry/statistical-data-of-embr-and-ear)

Overall number of induced abortions vs. medical abortions

Source: https://statistika.tai.ee/pxweb/en/Andmebaas/Andmebaas__01Rahvastik__03Abordid/?tablelist=true

Induced abortions per gestational age (2021)

Source: https://statistika.tai.ee/pxweb/en/Andmebaas/Andmebaas__01Rahvastik__03Abordid/?tablelist=true

Place of abortion ()

Unfortunately we have no data for this country.

Source:

Characteristics of women having induced abortion

Distribution of induced abortion according to women age (2021)

Source: https://statistika.tai.ee/pxweb/en/Andmebaas/Andmebaas__01Rahvastik__03Abordid/?tablelist=true

In 2021 among women who had induced abortion:

99% lived in Estonia
56% had at least 1 previous induced abortion
71% had at least 1 child.

Source:

https://statistika.tai.ee/pxweb/en/Andmebaas/Andmebaas__01Rahvastik__03Abordid/?tablelist=true

Fertility and contraception

Fertility rates in women aged 15-49

Source: https://statistika.tai.ee/pxweb/en/Andmebaas/Andmebaas__01Rahvastik__02Synnid/?tablelist=true

Women age at first birth

28,6 years of age (2021)

58% of women aged 15-44 used a contraceptive method (2020):

4,1% used intra-uterine device (IUD).

Pre-abortion contraception

In 2020, 38% of women who had abortion had a contraceptive method before abortion procedure.

Contraception during abortion process

IUD prescribed during abortion process can be placed in abortion facilities, during abortion or after in first possibility
Implants are not placed in abortion facilities; they are placed by OB/GYN.

Source:

https://www.stat.ee/en/en/find-statistics/statistics-theme/population/births

https://statistika.tai.ee/pxweb/en/Andmebaas/Andmebaas__01Rahvastik__03Abordid/?tablelist=true

Country-specific characteristics

Women have to give written consent.
Abortion is taught during health care professionals’ (HCPs’) medical studies.
All HCPs have the right to conscientiously object.
Both surgical and medical abortions are free of charge for resident women only when they are performed due to medical reasons.
- Resident women have to pay around 40 € (medical) or 55 € (surgical) for abortion “on request”.
- Non-resident women (whose social tax is not paid) have to pay around 80 € for medical abortion, or 180 € for surgical abortion.

Source:

IPPF European Network – Updated January 2012 (http://www.ippfen.org/)

Estonian Health Insurance Fund’s list of health care services (https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/130122016013)

Health Insurance (https://www.haigekassa.ee/en/people/health-insurance)

Download statistics of Estonia

The statistics presented are freely accessible and may be used, copied, displayed or distributed provided that their source is given. You can choose whether you prefer to download the statistics of the last 10 years or the full data set. Press one of the buttons to generate a report in PDF format for this country.

Abbreviations: EFTA = European Free Trade Association | EU = European Union | IUD = intra-uterine device | LARC = long-acting reversible contraception | LMP = last menstruation period | GYN = gynaecologist | HCP = health care professional | hCG = human chorionic gonadotropin | HIV = human immunodeficiency virus | OB = obstetrician | Rh = Rhesus | US = ultrasound

A special thanks to our correspondents for contributing in data collection.
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Page last updated: 4 July 2023