GPs are allowed to dispense abortion pills to patients. On Tuesday, the Senate approved the expansion of the Abortion Act with a large majority of 61 members. Previously, only hospitals and abortion clinics could provide abortion pills. The treatment consists of five pills. The law will take effect in mid-2023 or early 2024.
The proposal, submitted by GroenLinks, D66, PvdA and VVD, was widely supported. Particularly striking was the support of the entire senate fraction of the CDA. Traditionally, that party votes conservatively on medical-ethical issues. The position of the party seems to be shifting: last summer the CDA’s scientific bureau already advocated the cultivation of embryos for research, and part of the Senate parliamentary party voted in June to abolish the five-day reflection period for abortion.
The proposal was criticized by abortion clinics, because doctors fear that too many of their patients would go to the GP. Moreover, they doubt whether GPs have enough expertise in abortion care to be able to prescribe the pills. However, GPs receive further training before they can prescribe the pill.
It is the second time in a year that the cabinet has radically amended the Abortion Act. In June, the House of Representatives and the Senate agreed to abolish the mandatory five-day cooling-off period for abortions. From 2023, this cooling-off period is no longer mandatory. Before this year, Dutch abortion law has remained practically unchanged for twenty years.
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