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Abortion after 12 weeks

If you are more than 12 weeks into your pregnancy but want an abortion, this can only happen in special situations and you must have permission from the consultation for abortion in your region.
Kvinde får lavet gynækologisk undersøgelse

Who can have an abortion after 12 weeks?

You can get permission for an abortion in special situations, for example:

  • If the child will have a serious physical or mental disorder.
  • If your health is at risk in connection with the pregnancy.
  • If the pregnancy is due to rape or another criminal offence.
  • If you are unable to care for the child due to poor giftedness.
  • If the pregnancy, the birth or the care of the child will be such a serious burden on you that it is considered necessary for you, for the maintenance of the home or the care of other children in the family, to terminate the pregnancy.
  • In very special situations, young women under the age of 18 can obtain permission to have an abortion without parental consent.

How do you apply for an abortion after the 12th week of pregnancy?

If you are considering applying for permission to have an abortion, you should contact your doctor, who will refer you to a scan at the hospital. The scan is necessary as it can tell exactly how far along you are in the pregnancy.

Once you have been scanned, the hospital sends your application for an abortion to the abortion consultation's secretariat, and you will be summoned to an interview with a social worker and possibly a psychiatrist. In the interview, you will have the opportunity to talk about your situation. Each conversation lasts approx. 1 hour.

The interviews typically take place at a hospital in your region.

When will you be notified of the decision?

After the interviews, your application for abortion will be processed in your region's abortion consultation. Your application is usually processed within a week. You will receive an answer as soon as possible.

If you receive permission for an abortion, you will be given an appointment at the hospital as soon as possible.

If your application is rejected, you can appeal the rejection to the abortion appeals board in the Swedish Agency for Patient Safety, which makes a decision within a few days. To appeal a refusal, you must call the secretariat of the abortion consultation in your region and tell them you want to appeal the decision.

You can find the secretariat of your regional abortion consultation here.