US EditionFaroe Islands Scraps One of Europe's Strictest Abortion Laws
The new law ends decades of restrictive abortion access, with the Faroe Islands joining 43 European countries allowing abortion on request during early pregnancy.
- On Thursday, the Lagtinget voted to legalise abortion on request until the end of the 12th week of pregnancy, approving the reform 17 to 16 after a heated debate.
- Activists' years-long campaign prompted lawmakers after an almost identical bill failed in a tied vote in May last year, reflecting earlier unsuccessful attempts by Faroese pro-choice campaign groups.
- Previous legislation allowed abortions only in narrow cases such as rape, incest or health risk, requiring GPs and second medical bodies for approval, with women seeking abortions and doctors risking imprisonment if conditions were unmet.
- The new legislation is expected to take effect on 1 July next year, replacing 1956 statutes, while the Centre for Reproductive Rights and Amnesty International Faroe Islands said decriminalisation remains essential.
- Positioned between Scotland and Norway, the Faroe Islands' change shifts regional norms; the remote archipelago is home to around 56,000 people, with restrictive abortion policies and warnings of rollback from Erhard Joensen, MP.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Faroe Islands Parliament vote on critical abortion law amendment
The parliament of the Faroe Islands narrowly voted on Wednesday to reform its decades-old abortion law, approving access to abortion “on request” up to the end of the twelfth week of pregnancy. The legislative change, passed by a razor-thin margin of 17 votes to 16, marks a historic shift for a jurisdiction long known for one of the most restrictive abortion regimes in Europe. The vote follows years of pressure from international bodies and regi…
The law was passed by a small majority in parliament. Up to now, the intervention was only legal in exceptions, for example if the life of the pregnant woman was endangered.
Faroe Islands: Vote to amend outdated law “an important step towards safe and legal abortion”
Reacting to today’s vote by the Faroese parliament (the ‘Lagtinget’/‘Løgting’) to amend the law to permit access to abortion on request up until the end of the twelfth week of pregnancy, Turið Maria, Director of Amnesty International Faroe Islands said: “Today’s vote amending the Faroe Islands’ deeply outdated and restrictive abortion law is an important […]
Jyllands-Posten
The Faroese parliament, the Lagting, has passed an abortion law, allowing women to have free abortions up to and including the 12th week of pregnancy. This was announced by Hervør Pálsdóttir from the Tjóðveldisflokkurin party in Ritzau. The proposal is...
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