Abortion in Denmark was fully legalized on October 1, 1973,[1] allowing the procedure to be done on-demand if a woman's pregnancy has not exceeded its twelfth week.[1] The patient must be over the age of 18 to decide on an abortion alone; parental consent is required if she is a minor.[1]
Abortion was first allowed in 1939 by application; if the doctors deemed the pregnancy fell into one of three categories (harmful or fatal to the mother, high risk for birth defects, or a pregnancy borne out of rape), a woman could legally have her pregnancy terminated.[2] A little more than half of the applications received in 1954 and 1955 were accepted; the low acceptance rates were linked to a surge of illegal abortions performed outside the confines of hospitals.[2] An addendum to the 1939 law was passed on March 24, 1970,[1] allowing on-demand abortions only for women under the age of 18 who were deemed "ill-equipped for motherhood," and women over the age of 38.[2]
The 1973 law is still valid today and nullifies the 1970 law.[1]
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