Abortion statistics of Norway

Abortion legislation

Legislation timeline

1959: abortion is allowed in some specific cases.
1964: Legislation came into action
1975: Act No. 50 (13 June)
1978: Act No. 5 and regulations for the implementation of the Act (16 June)
2019: New legislation related to fetal reduction. Two doctors have to consent to all fetal reductions regardless of gestational age for the same reasons/restrictions as one can grant abortions after 12 weeks gestation.

Source: https://lovdata.no/dokument/LTI/lov/2019-06-21-44

Abortion conditions

Ground	Gestational limit
To save a woman’s life	No limit
Because of foetal impairment	No limit
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: Abortion law (https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1975-06-13-50), http://www.ippfen.org/

Legal conditions

Written consent by the woman
Health personnel are obliged to offer counselling on contraception but the women can deny it.

Specific conditions for minors

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

Source:

Abortion law (https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1975-06-13-50)

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

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	No	No	No
Midwife office	No	No	No
Abortion centre/clinic
At home	No	No	Yes

Source: https://bora.uib.no/handle/1956/15618, Norsk Gynekologisk Forening (https://legeforeningen.no/Fagmed/Norsk-gynekologisk-forening/)

Mandatory pre-abortion examinations

None

Involved healthcare professionals

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

Source:

Abortion law (https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1975-06-13-50)

Norsk Gynekologisk Forening (https://legeforeningen.no/Fagmed/Norsk-gynekologisk-forening/Veiledere/Veileder-i-gynekologi-2015/Provosert-abort11/)

Abortion statistics

Abortion rates per 1,000 women aged 15-49

Source: https://www.fhi.no/en/ch/registry-of-pregnancy-termination/induced-abortion-in-norway/#about-the-statistics

Overall number of induced abortions

Source: https://www.fhi.no/en/ch/registry-of-pregnancy-termination/induced-abortion-in-norway/#about-the-statistics

Abortion ratio per 1.000 live births: 245 (2020)

Source: https://www.fhi.no/en/hn/health-registries/registry-of-pregnancy-termination/induced-abortion-in-norway/

Abortions performed “on request”: 95.1% (2022)

Source: https://www.fhi.no/publ/2023/rapport-om-svangerskapsavbrot--2022/

Overall number of induced abortions vs. medical abortions

Source: https://www.fhi.no/en/ch/registry-of-pregnancy-termination/induced-abortion-in-norway/#about-the-statistics

Induced abortions per gestational age (2022)

Source: https://www.fhi.no/publ/2023/rapport-om-svangerskapsavbrot--2022/

Place of abortion (2020)

Source: https://www.fhi.no/en/hn/health-registries/registry-of-pregnancy-termination/induced-abortion-in-norway/

Characteristics of women having induced abortion

Abortion rate per 1,000 women according to age (2022)

Source: https://www.fhi.no/en/ch/registry-of-pregnancy-termination/induced-abortion-in-norway/#about-the-statistics

In 2020, among women who had induced abortion:

98% lived in Norway
38% had at least 1 previous induced abortion
51% had at least 1 child

Source:

https://www.fhi.no/en/hn/health-registries/registry-of-pregnancy-termination/induced-abortion-in-norway/

Fertility and contraception

Fertility rates in women aged 15-49

Source: https://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/fodte-og-dode/statistikk/fodte

Women age at first birth

30.2 years of age (2022)

Overall contraception data

Contraceptive prevalence rate was 136/1,000 women aged 15-39 in 2016 (excluding intra-uterine device (IUD) and contraceptive vaginal ring); oral contraceptive prevalence rate was 118/1,000.

Pre-abortion contraception

19% of women who had abortion had a contraceptive method before abortion procedure (2007-2011).

Contraception during abortion process

IUDs are placed from 7 days after abortion.
Implants are placed on the day of abortion or later.

Source:

https://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/fodte-og-dode/statistikk/fodte

Folkehelseinstituttet (http://www.norpd.no/)

Justad-Berg RT et al. Characteristics of women with repeat termination of pregnancy: a study of all requests for pregnancy termination in Norway during 2007-2011. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2015;94(11):1175-80. doi: 10.1111/aogs.12714.

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; they can avoid participating in the operation itself, but cannot refuse to help in pre- and post-operation care.
Both surgical and medical abortions are free of charge for resident women. Non-resident women have to pay between €260 (medical) and €900 – €1,000 (surgical) unless they are registered citizens or they applied for asylum. They do not have to pay up front and many hospitals will not send a bill for those who do not pay upon leaving the hospital. It is regarded as emergency medical assistance to provide an abortion.

Source:

Abortion law (https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1975-06-13-50)

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

Download statistics of Norway

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Page last updated: 1 March 2024