The authors acknowledge that transgender men and non-binary people also need abortion care. Legalization was at the forefront of public debate in the Netherlands in the 1970s, when many other Western European countries liberalized their laws. However, the Staten-Generaal has not been able to reach a consensus between opponents of legalization, supporters of abortion and supporters of compromise measures. A controversial abortion bill passed in 1981 with 76 votes in favor and 74 against in the House of Representatives, 38 in favor and 37 against in the Senate. The law criminalized abortion unless it is performed in a clinic or hospital that has issued an official abortion certificate from the Dutch government and the woman requesting the abortion declares that she considers it an emergency. The Act entered into force on 1 November 1984. The right to self-determination over one`s own body is currently being discussed in various parts of the world – and should not be. The discussion about abortion should not take place in the halls of government, but between a woman and her doctor. Under abortion law, abortions can be performed up to the 24th week of pregnancy, “the time when the fetus becomes viable outside the womb.” The law does not apply to late-term abortions. (Euthanasia and newborns, op. cit.; Wet afbreking zwangerschap [Abortion Act] (1 May 1981, last amended 17 May 2010, entered into force October 2010). 10, 2011).) It`s simple: if you`re a Christian and abortion violates the tenets of your faith, don`t get any! But don`t dictate to others what to do with their bodies or how to live their own lives! Keep your religiosity to yourself and keep it away from other people`s bodies as well! This comes after a study showed that young people in the Netherlands have more conservative beliefs than their parents.
This can be seen in the number of young people who participated in the Schreeuw om Leven march on Saturday and in Exxpose, a group of young Christians calling on the Netherlands to make prostitution illegal. PIP: The current abortion law in the Netherlands was passed in 1981. It stipulates that abortions are performed only in licensed clinics or hospitals, that a doctor must be convinced of the need for the woman to terminate a pregnancy, that a waiting period of 5 days between the initial consultation and the abortion is observed, that independent abortion clinics have a cooperation agreement with a nearby hospital, and that abortions during the 2nd trimester (13-22 weeks) are performed in the hospital. In 1986, 36 455 abortions were carried out in the Netherlands, divided more or less equally between Dutch residents and foreigners. Almost half of the women were between the ages of 20 and 30 and the majority of abortions were performed before week 8. The abortion rate for Dutch women was 5.3/1000 women aged 15 to 44. The groups most at risk of unwanted pregnancy are sexually active women between the ages of 2 and 30, women who have not opted for sterilization, women from other parts of the world where lifestyles are different, and women from European countries where abortion is difficult to obtain. In Holland, 144 hospitals and 19 independent clinics are licensed to perform abortions, and 80% are performed in clinics by suction curettage, aspirotomy or prostaglandins. Residents of the Netherlands will be reimbursed. In the case of late-term category 2 abortions or termination of a newborn`s life, the Examination Board also decides whether the doctor acted with due diligence, but instead of being sent to the health inspectorate, the results are forwarded to the General Prosecutor`s Office of the Dutch Public Prosecutor`s Office. These findings will be taken into account by the Chamber when deciding whether to conduct a criminal investigation and/or prosecute.
(Ibid.) On Saturday, November 16, thousands of people participated in a protest against abortion (not as pictured in the featured image). The Christian anti-abortion organization Schreeuw om Leven Foundation held its annual march in Utrecht. According to the organization, about 10,000 people were present, a figure that the municipality of Utrecht considers greatly exaggerated. Schreeuw om Leven is also known for protesting in abortion clinics, and despite criticism, Van Helden thinks it`s important to do so. “Every week we find women in abortion clinics who we convince to cancel their abortions at the last minute. As long as we stand there and can convince people not to abort, it means there is something structurally wrong with the whole process. So something really needs to change,” he said. The public debate on abortion has been revived since Trump became president of the United States. While he may not be the ideal example of a religiously conservative politician, Trump surrounds himself with conservative politicians and fanatical Christians who would like to see the legal status of abortion in the United States a thing of the past. Although various religious movements have always opposed abortion, the strict legal pursuit of the practice did not begin until the 19th century. The practice and legislation of different countries are now very different. There is no clear norm in international law that says abortion can or cannot be allowed.
However, it is clear that criminalizing or preventing abortion can violate women`s autonomy, the right to life and health, and women`s privacy. At present, the legal status of abortion in the Netherlands is not the end of the story. Abortion is a fragile human right for which we must continue to fight. Much remains to be done to prevent religious groups from gaining a foothold in the Netherlands. We should not allow them to enact the same abortion laws as in Alabama and other places where women are treated as objects and second-class citizens.