Since the 1970s there have been many options available in the Netherlands for terminating an unwanted pregnancy. An abortion is allowed up until the time when a foetus could survive, which is about 24 weeks. In practice, most clinics have a time limit of 22 weeks.

The Dutch abortion law does set certain requirements about how a woman arrives at her decision to terminate a pregnancy. She should only decide this after some consideration, and should not be put under any pressure to do so. The law also sets out conditions for the quality of care given by clinics and hospitals where terminations are performed.

Contraception is widely available in the Netherlands and usually covered by a woman’s health insurance. Schools p provide their students with comprehensive sex education. All this means that although it’s not difficult to get an abortion, relatively few women actually need to do so. In fact, the Netherlands has one of the lowest abortion rates in the world.