Minister of Health and Care Services Ingvild Kjerkol (Labor Party) chaired the press conference. With her were health policy spokespersons Hans Inge Myrvold (Sp) and Cecilie Terese Myrseth (Labor). – For many women, terminating a pregnancy is a difficult choice. They must therefore receive good professional support in the time before, during and after. Such important issues can not be the subject of political horse-trading, the Minister of Health stated. Possible self-determined abortion until week 18 In Norway, pregnant women decide whether they want to have an abortion until the end of week 12. If they want an abortion later – up to the end of week 18 – the abortion must be approved by an abortion board. In line with the Hurdal platform, a committee will be appointed to look at the provisions of the Abortion Act, the follow-up of women who have abortions and alternatives to the current abortion committees, the Government itself writes on its website. – This mandate is historic, says Kjerkol. The government says on Wednesday that they will give the committee a mandate to investigate the possibility of self-determined abortion up to the end of the 18th week. The work will take 18 months. This means that women themselves can choose to have an abortion by the end of the 18th week. The committee will also study an alternative that is in line with the current limit of 12 weeks. – The committee will consider an alternative to the current abortion committees that take care of the current limit for self-determination at the end of the twelfth week of pregnancy, and an alternative where the limit for self-determination is extended, the press release states. The Abortion Act Women in Norway can decide for themselves whether they want to have an abortion during the first twelve weeks of a pregnancy. After this, the woman must apply for an abortion, and appear before a board that decides this. An abortion board consists of two doctors. One of them must be employed by the department that performs abortions at the hospital. There are several factors that allow a woman to have an abortion approved after the twelfth week. Among other things, if the pregnancy or the care of the child leads to an unreasonable burden for the child, it puts the woman in a difficult life situation, there is a great risk that the child can get serious illness, if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, the pregnant woman is seriously ill. or severely mentally retarded. If the pregnancy is to be terminated after week 18, there must be “particularly compelling” reasons, for example that the mother’s life is in danger or that the fetus will not be able to survive. Sp does not want to expand the Health Policy spokesman in the Center Party, Hans Inge Myrvold, says he is happy to contribute to the committee getting the abortion law reviewed. At the same time, he is clear on what the party thinks about the case. – The Center Party wants to continue the current primary line in abortion legislation, with self-determined abortion up to 12 weeks. There is much else that is also in this mandate, such as the role of the committees. – So no matter what the committee concludes, does Sp not want to push the limit? – That’s right. We are willing to use the knowledge base to look at other parts of the legislation, Myrvold answers. The committee will have broad expertise Kari Sønderland, lawyer and former head of operations at the Ministry of Health and Care Services, will chair the committee. – I am confident that she will lead the committee in a safe and good way, Kjerkol said. The rest of the committee will be ready in a short time, the Minister of Health added. It is planned that the committee will otherwise have expertise in, among other things, medical ethics, diagnostics, as well as follow-up and treatment of pregnant women. The committee must also have knowledge about disease and developmental abnormalities in the fetus, the Government writes in a press release. The committee may propose changes in practice, law and regulations as a result of its recommendations. The committee must also consider the rules on fetal number reductions. Hans Inge Myrvold (Sp) calls the announcement of the committee a “historic event”. – My hope is that the committee’s knowledge base will give us a constructive and dignified debate, says Myrvold. These guidelines are laid down for the work Society shall, as far as possible, ensure all children conditions for a safe upbringing. Society must ensure that everyone receives ethical guidance, sexual information, knowledge about cohabitation issues and offers of family planning, so that the number of abortions is as low as possible. If there is reason to believe that the fetus is viable outside the mother’s womb, permission for abortion shall not be granted. If the pregnancy entails an imminent danger to the woman’s life or health, it can be terminated without regard to the provisions of the law. Healthcare professionals shall continue to have the right to make reservations for reasons of conscience against performing or assisting in the event of abortion. – For our great-grandmothers, abortion was a criminal offense. For the one who was pregnant, and for the one who helped her. For us it is now history, but for women in other parts of the world it is reality. When we now, with great concern, look at what is happening in the United States, it is an important reminder that nothing comes by itself, said Cecilie Terese Myrseth (Labor).
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The government investigates historical extension of the abortion law – NRK Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
