The number of abortions among 15 to 19 year olds in Norway has never been lower than in 2017, showed new figures from the Norwegian institute of public health.
From 2016 to 2017 there was a decrease from 7.6 to a 6.3 abortions per 1,000 teenagers in Norway. The number of abortions among teens is on the way down, and is its lowest since the founding of the Abortion Register in 1979.
‘’Since 2006, youngsters have been better able to protect themselves against unwanted pregnancies. Among other things, we have seen changed prevention methods. They take the knowledge with them into adulthood,” said consultant, Mette Løkeland of the ‘Abortregistret’ at the Norwegian institute of public health.
She believes there are several reasons for the decline.
‘’The last 15 years have seen a strong development of health centres for youth.
Contraceptive pills have also become cheaper because of government subsidies.
In 2015, the coil and the p-rod were included in the scheme,” said Løkeland.
In 2017, 12,733 abortions were carried out in Norway. 95.7% were self chosen by the mother, and 81.2% were performed before the ninth week. Almost nine out of ten abortions are now achieved with drugs.
In 2016, there were 13,169 abortions performed in Norway, while the number was 14,001 in 2015.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
