Grounds on Which Abortion Is Permitted

Iceland

ABORTION POLICY

Grounds on which abortion is permitted:

To save the life of the woman Yes To preserve physical health Yes To preserve mental health Yes Rape or incest Yes Foetal impairment Yes Economic or social reasons Yes Available on request No

Additional requirements:

A written report from two physicians is necessary. In the case of non-agreement, the request must be submitted for decision by a three-member committee. For social grounds, certification of a physician and a social worker is required.

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CONTEXT

Government view on fertility level: Satisfactory

Government intervention concerning fertility level: To maintain

Government policy on contraceptive use: Direct support provided

Percentage of currently married women using modern contraception (aged 15-49): ..

Total fertility rate (1995-2000): 2.1

Age-specific fertility rate (per 1,000 women aged 15-19, 1995-2000): 24

Government has expressed particular concern about: Morbidity and mortality resulting from induced abortion No Complications of childbearing and childbirth No

Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births, 1990): National - Developed countries 27

Female life expectancy at birth (1995-2000): 81.3

Source: The Population Policy Data Bank maintained by the Population Division of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. For additional sources, see list of references. 54 Iceland

BACKGROUND

The Law of 22 May 1975 liberalized the legal performance of abortion in Iceland, permitting it on a broad variety of grounds. The Law allows abortions to be performed when a threat exists to life or to mental or physical health, when the pregnancy is the result of a crime, when a serious foetal defect is present, and when, because of youth or lack of mental development, the woman cannot take care of a child in a satisfactory manner. In addition, the law allows abortions on social grounds. These social factors, which are considered to be beyond the control of the pregnant woman, are factors that are deemed to make the birth of a child too difficult for the woman and her immediate family. They include the following situations: the woman has given birth to several children at frequent intervals and only a short time has elapsed since the previous birth; the woman lives in difficult family circumstances owing to the presence of many young children or to the serious ill health of other persons in the household; the woman cannot look after a child satisfactorily because of her youth or lack of maturity; or the woman’s or her partner’s physical or mental illness seriously impedes their capacity to care for or to rear a child.

Any woman that applies for an abortion in Iceland is required to receive counselling with regard to the social assistance that is available to her. The abortion, if carried out, must be performed in an approved hospital. Following the abortion, the woman must receive counselling concerning contraceptive use before she leaves the hospital, and she must return later for a medical examination and further counselling.

By law, abortion in Iceland must be performed during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy. However, this limit does not apply in cases where the mother’s life or health is in jeopardy or if foetal deformity is present. Written authorization from the committee approving the abortion is obligatory in such situations.

A person who performs an abortion in violation of the law is subject to from five to seven years of imprisonment.