Abortion legislation
Legal conditions
- Written consent by the woman
- Pre-abortion consultation (legal counselling)
- Pre-abortion confirmation consultation
- Pre-abortion laboratory tests
- 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 18.
Practical conditions
Mandatory pre-abortion examinations
- Blood group and rhesus factor
Involved healthcare professionals
- Surgical abortion: obstetrician/gynaecologist (OB/GYN) or another physician
- Medical abortion: OB/GYN, another physician or another health care professional (HCP) under physician supervision
Abortion statistics
Overall number of induced abortions
Source: Ministerio de Sanidad y Bienestar Social https://www.sanidad.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/prevPromocion/embarazo/docs/IVE_2021.pdf
Abortion ratio per 1.000 live births: 268 (2021)
Source: Ministerio de Sanidad y Bienestar Social https://www.sanidad.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/prevPromocion/embarazo/docs/IVE_2021.pdf
Abortions performed “on request”: 91% (2021)
Source: Ministerio de Sanidad y Bienestar Social https://www.sanidad.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/prevPromocion/embarazo/docs/IVE_2021.pdf
Overall number of induced abortions vs. medical abortions
Source: Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios sociales e igualidad https://www.sanidad.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/prevPromocion/embarazo/docs/IVE_2021.pdf
Induced abortions per gestational age
Source: https://www.mscbs.gob.es/fr/profesionales/saludPublica/prevPromocion/embarazo/tablas_figuras.htm
Data from 2021
Place of abortion
Source: Ministerio de Sanidad, Consumo y Bienestar Social https://www.mscbs.gob.es/fr/profesionales/saludPublica/prevPromocion/embarazo/tablas_figuras.htm
Data from 2021
Characteristics of women having induced abortion
In 2021, among women who had induced abortion:
- 89% lived in Spain
- 35% had at least one previous induced abortion
- 52% had at least one child
Fertility and contraception
Women age at first birth
- 32.6 years of age (2021)
Overall contraception data
- 71% of women aged 18-44 used a contraceptive method (2017):
- 18% used oral contraceptive
- 9% used intra-uterine device (IUD).
Pre-abortion contraception
- In 2021, 52% of women who had abortion had a contraceptive method before abortion procedure.
Source: https://www.sanidad.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/prevPromocion/embarazo/docs/IVE_2021.pdf
Contraception during abortion process
- IUDs are placed on the day of abortion procedure
- Implants are placed 15 to 30 days after abortion procedure.
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: 6 June 2023