Faroe Islands scraps one of Europe’s strictest abortion laws

The Faroe Islands parliament voted on Thursday to legalize abortion until the end of the twelfth week of pregnancy, repealing a decades-old law that prohibited abortion in most cases.

Previous legislation only allowed abortion in certain circumstances – such as rape, incest or a risk to the pregnant woman’s health – and meant the autonomous Danish territory had among the most restrictive abortion policies in Europe.

After a heated parliamentary debate, the decision reached the wires, where representatives narrowly voted in favor of the reform, by a majority of 17 to 16.

“This is truly a historic day in the Faroe Islands,” said Angeline Didriksen-Strom, one of the four MPs who introduced the bill.

“This change finally confirms women’s autonomy over their bodies in the Faroe Islands,” Strom told the BBC.

“It ensures access to safe healthcare, and it protects our freedom to make decisions about our lives without fear, without stigma, and without criminalization,” she added.

New legislation in the Faroe Islands – located between Scotland and Norway – is expected to come into force on July 1 next year, replacing laws dating back to 1956.

Under this legislation, abortions can only be performed in special circumstances – which also includes if there are serious health problems for the fetus or if the woman is deemed “unfit” to care for the child.

Whether or not a woman is ‘unfit’ is judged by a GP first, and then a second medical body, before an abortion is granted. Both the woman and the doctor risk imprisonment if the conditions are not met.

Pro-choice activists in the Faroe Islands have argued that the legislation is outdated and infringes on women’s rights.

“This is a huge change,” Bjort Linde of pro-choice campaign group Freight Vale told Danish newspaper Politiken.

“Abortion was hidden and taboo in Faroese society,” she says. “When we started our work, no one dared to talk about it. It has become much better.” “But it’s still a big challenge.”

In a statement to the BBC, Amnesty International’s Faroese branch said: “After years of campaigning, we finally have a law that respects the rights of women and all pregnant women to safe and legal abortion up to week 12.”

She added: “This is a big step for human rights, the right to bodily autonomy and safe abortions.” “Faroe women do not have to go on an expensive trip abroad to have an abortion.”

With access to abortions limited in the Faroe Islands, campaign groups said women often had to travel to Denmark for the procedure.

Danish law has allowed abortions up to 12 weeks since 1973, and in June this year, this was amended to extend abortions on request up to 18 weeks.

According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, about 43 countries in Europe allow “abortion on demand” during the early stages of pregnancy. Only five – Andorra, Malta, Liechtenstein, Poland and Monaco – maintain very restrictive laws.

Opponents of changing the law in the Faroe Islands argued that the right of the fetus should be protected.

Erhard Jensen, a member of parliament who voted against the bill on Thursday, told Danish national broadcaster DR that he respects the outcome, but does not believe there is much support for the new law.

“I think we will see that some will try to back away from it,” he said.

The remote archipelago is home to around 56,000 people who speak the Faroese language and have a distinct cultural identity.

Compared to other Nordic countries, society in the Faroe Islands is relatively conservative, with more than three-quarters of the population belonging to the Lutheran Church.

Previous attempts to liberalize abortion laws have failed. More recently, in May last year, an almost identical bill resulted in a tied vote, failing to secure the majority required to pass the Faroe Islands Parliament.