Today’s news / Faroes looking to legalise abortion

Faroes looking to legalise abortion

The Faroese abortion law is to be amended so that women can have a free abortion until the end of the 12th week of pregnancy, according to the Faroese Government, which has submitted a bill for consultation according to the Faroese KVR and the Ministry of Justice’s website. Abortion legislation in the Faroe Islands dates back to 1956. Currently it is only in special cases that pregnant women in the Faroe Islands can have an abortion and as the rules are today, abortion is thus prohibited in principle.
     Women can only have an abortion today if, for example, it is assessed that there is a serious danger to the woman’s life or health or if the woman has been subjected to rape or incest. According to the Faroese Minister for Justice, Bjarni Kárason Petersen, the purpose of the new bill is, among other things, to make abortion legislation up-to-date. “It is not easy to find a solution that satisfies all positions on this very sensitive issue. But the woman’s right to decide over her own body and her reproductive health weighs heavily in this context,” said Bjarni Kárason Petersen, according to KVR.
     Denmark got free abortion in 1973, when the Faroe Islands chose to keep the legislation from 1956. The Faroe Islands have been the last Nordic country not to have free abortion. /ritzau/