In Norway, all women have the right to decide whether they want to have an abortion up to the 12. week of pregnancy (10 weeks after fertilisation). You do not need to give a reason for why you want an abortion.
If you are younger than 16, your parents in most cases have a right to voice their opinion. In some cases, the doctor can decide that the parents or legal guardian should not be informed, and also not allowed to voice their opinion.
There are two methods of abortion, abortion with medication and surgical abortion. Which method you can choose, depends on how long you have been pregnant.
You are still able to have children after an abortion.
No one can force you to have an abortion if you do not want it. But no one can force a woman to go through a pregnancy she doesn't want either.
How can I get an abortion?
You can contact the hospital directly to make an appointment. In Norway, you can decide yourself which hospital you want to contact. It is not necessary to be referred by or talk to another doctor or health professional before making the appointment with the hospital. If you have decided, nothing more is required than that you call the hospital yourself to make the appointment.
If you want to talk to your general practitioner, a public health nurse or someone else, you can contact them and make an appointment. This service is free of charge. They can help you with making an appointment with the hospital. You can also contact Amathea, which offers advice and counselling for pregnant women. You decide yourself if you want to talk to someone before making the appointment with the hospital.
When you call the hospital, they will ask you when you last had your menstrual period. This is so that they can calculate how many weeks you have been pregnant. You will then get an appointment to the first examination based on the date for the first day of your last menstrual cycle.
When can I get a self-determined abortion?
You need to have taken a pregnancy test, and this needs to be positive.
- Earliest: An abortion cannot be performed before the 6. week of the pregnancy. This means that if you discover that you are pregnant early in the pregnancy, you might need to wait before you can have an abortion.
- Latest: You can have an abortion up to the 12. week of pregnancy. It is possible to have an abortion after the 12. week of pregnancy, but you have to apply for this. The application must be written with you doctor at the hospital or your general practitioner. In the application you need to give a reason for why you want want an abortion. The application is considered by a committee consisting of two doctors. The committee decides if your application for abortion is approved or denied. If your application for abortion is denied, the application is automatically considered again by someone else.
Most people who want an abortion after the 12. week of pregnancy and have a good reason for it, get their application for abortion approved even after the 12. week of pregnancy. The requirements get more strict the more time that passes.
Which week of pregnancy?
The way one calculates week of pregnancy is a bit unintuitive. Some people might therefore be surprised to find out that they are in a different week of pregnancy than they believed. For instance, if you had unprotected sexual intercourse one week ago, you might already be in what is called the third week of pregnancy. This is because the week of pregnancy is calculated from the first day of your last menstrual period; the last time you had your period.
In practice, this means that the week of pregnancy is calculated from two weeks before you actually got pregnant.
First appointment at the hospital
- When you have called the hospital and they have got the information they need, you will get an appointment. During the first appointment at the hospital, you are examined with ultrasound to find out more accurately how many weeks you have been pregnant. The examination is done with internal ultrasound, where a small, elongated rod is inserted into the vagina. External ultrasound, ultrasound on the belly, is not used before around the 13. week of pregnancy.
- After the ultrasound, the doctor suggests which method of abortion that suits you best. You can give your preferences, but ultimately it is the doctor who decides based on what is best for you from a medical perspective.
- There are two methods of abortion: Abortion with medication, and surgical abortion.
What does an abortion cost?
In Norway, abortion is free of charge for Norwegian citizens and women who are asylum seekers or are lawfully resident in Norway. Tourists and other foreign nationals (also EU-nationals) in Norway must pay for the procedure themselves. The cost of the procedure varies between hospitals.
After the abortion
How you handle the abortion mentally varies widely:
- Some people do not experience any sadness, but rather a great relief, and the feeling that they have found the solution to a problem.
- Some people can find it difficult and challenging. Then it might help to talk to someone, for example a partner, friends or family that one has a good relationship with, or a health professional. There are also some counselling services you can contact.
- Still others feel a mix of relief and sadness.
No emotion is wrong. Everyone is different, everyone have been in different circumstances when they got pregnant, and everyone have their own reasons to have an abortion. This is why we react differently.
