Abortion in the Netherlands (Why Holland has the lowest abortion rate in the Western world)

In December 1999, New Zealand's justice minister, Phil Goff announced that the country's abortion laws were to be reviewed. In making this announcement he said “I would like to see the level of abortions reduced not by outlawing it, because that has never worked, but by trying to deal with the causes of unwanted pregnancies.”

The Minister was responding to suggestions made to Parliament by the Abortion Supervisory Committee. Over a number of years, this statutory body, in annual reports to Parliament had drawn attention to abortion rates in the Netherlands and had recommended New Zealand should follow their example.

The diagram below is based on data in that Committee's report to Parliament in December 2000 together with figures published by the Ministry of Health in the Netherlands in June 2000.

It shows abortions rates are substantially lower in the Netherlands than in other low fertility countries. This has been noted by many people with an interest in fertility issues and has generated interest around the world.

Conflicting theories have been advanced as to why Holland's abortion rate is so low when compared with other low fertility countries.

Of special interest are comparisons with abortion rates in Sweden and Denmark. Contraceptive sex education has been compulsory in Sweden since 1956 and in Denmark since 1971. Given the belief in many circles that contraception and sex education are the key to low abortion rates, the disparity between levels in the Scandanavian countries and the Netherlands raises questions as to what other factors might be involved.

The findings of a survey of 3,017 New Zealand women carried out through the Population Studies Department at Waikato University in 1995 also raised questions about the role played by contraception in reducing abortion rates.

More than 80% of abortions in New Zealand are performed on women aged between 20 and 45. The Waikato study found nearly all of the women in this age group, who were sexually active and wanting to avoid pregnancy, were either sterilised or using contraception. The unmet need for contraception in this group ranged between 0 and 2%.

In April 2000 I visited the Netherlands and interviewed people who were specialists on issues relating to abortion, contraception and sexuality. The results of the research arising from that visit are set out in this report. It ends with a summary of the conclusions I reached as to why abortion levels in the Netherlands are in such marked contrast to the levels in New Zealand.

Marilyn Pryor
P.O. Box 1937, Wellington, New Zealand
tel: (04) 496-1759
fax: (04) 496-1740
email: mvpryor@paradise.net.nz

Abortion rates in a number of low fertility countries

Abortion rates are a measure of the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44

Sources:

December 2000 Annual Report of the NZ Abortion Statistics from the Dutch Ministry of Health