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The Road Ahead

When the final law legalizing abortion upon request was passed in 1978, it was a great victory for the feminists. With this law, women were granted absolute authority when deciding whether she wanted to go through with a pregnancy or not, no matter the cause. Still we know that for some women, this is the most challenging decision of their lives. Some women carry the experience with them as an open wound their whole life through, perhaps because it is such a difficult topic to talk about.

These days, the debate is often about the selecting of foeti, now that science enables us to see the sex of the foetus, as well as any illnesses. Ultrasound means we no longer only experience pregnancies in terms of a woman's body growing, we can follow the development and movement of the foetus. Some debate whether unborn foeti should be allowed to be buried, something which would give the foetus more of an independent status. The right of health workers to reserve themselves against participating in abortion procedures has also been the subject of much discussion. Today, a woman who wants an abortion after the twelfth week has to apply to an appels board. The Women's Front (Kvinnefronten) has demanded this board to be discontinued. The Labour Party's National Women's Conference of 2005 suggested expanding the time period from 12 to 16 weeks, but this was downvoted by the Party's general assembly of 2005.

Information

More information about contraception, a wider selection of contraception available, and better availability have been the most efficient preventive measures. 

Young people can come to "Sex og samfunn, senter for ung seksualitet" ("Sex and society, center for young sexuality") in Oslo, and receive free information, guidance and condoms. They have also published an information booklet about Sex in Norway. The SUSS-phone line, which was a national service and received calls from 12.000 yearly, but was closed down on 28 November 2014. However, there are other information channels. Juntafil is a very popular sex ed radio show for teenagers and young adults, it is sent on Norwegian radio channel P3 every Thursday 17:00-19:00, and can be found online here. Amalthea is a guidance service for the pregnant, and provides free counseling for women and couples who are experiencing unexpected pregnancies. 

Reserved debate

The debate about the right of general practicioners to reserve themselves against refering their patients to institutions that can perform an abortion procedure, became important again in 2013. Many women felt that their rights were being threatened. In May 2014, the government suggested the passing of a new law stating that women no longer had to go through their general practicioner to request an abortion, but the law was not passed.

Museum24:Portal - 2024.03.19
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