The Faroe Islands parliament voted on Thursday to legalize abortion until the end of the 12th week of pregnancy, repealing a decades-old law that banned abortions in most cases.
Previous legislation allowed abortions only in certain circumstances – such as rape, incest or risk to the health of the pregnant woman – and meant that the Danish autonomous territory had one of the most restrictive abortion policies in Europe.
After a heated parliamentary debate, the decision came down to the wire, with parliamentarians narrowly voting in favor of the reform, by 17 to 16.
“This is truly a historic day in the Faroe Islands,” said Ingilín Didriksen Strømm, one of the four parliamentarians who introduced the bill.
Strømm told the BBC: “This change finally affirms women’s autonomy over their own bodies in the Faroe Islands.”
“It guarantees access to safe healthcare and also protects our freedom to make decisions about our own lives without fear, without stigma and without criminalization,” he added.
New legislation in the Faroe Islands, located between Scotland and Norway, is expected to come into force on July 1 next year, replacing laws dating back to 1956.
Under that legislation, abortions could only be performed in special circumstances, which also include if there are serious fetal health problems or if the woman is deemed “unfit” to care for the child.
Whether a woman is “unfit” or not is judged first by a general practitioner and then by a second medical body, before granting an abortion. Both the woman and the doctor risked imprisonment if the conditions were not met.
Faroese pro-choice activists have argued that the legislation was outdated and affected women’s rights.
“This is a colossal change,” Bjørt Lind of the pro-choice group Fritt Val told Danish newspaper Politiken.
“Abortion has been so hidden and taboo in Faroese society. When we started our work, no one dared to talk about it. It has improved a lot,” she says. “But it’s still a big challenge.”
In a statement to the BBC, Amnesty International’s Faroe Islands branch said: “After years of campaigning, we finally have a law that respects the rights of women and all pregnant people to a safe and legal abortion up to week 12.”
“This is a great step for human rights, the right to bodily autonomy and to guarantee safe abortions,” he added. “And Faroese women do not have to make an expensive trip abroad to have an abortion.”
With limited access to abortions in the Faroe Islands, campaign groups said women often had to travel to Denmark for the procedure.
Danish law has allowed abortion up to 12 weeks since 1973, and was amended in June this year to extend abortions on request up to 18 weeks.
According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, some 43 countries in Europe allow “abortion on demand” during the early stages of pregnancy. Only five (Andorra, Malta, Liechtenstein, Poland and Monaco) maintain very restrictive laws.
Opponents of the law change in the Faroe Islands argue that the right of the fetus must be protected.
Erhard Joensen, an MP who voted against the bill on Thursday, told Danish national broadcaster DR that he respects the result, but does not believe there will be much support for the new law.
“I think we’ll see some try to reverse it,” he said.
The remote archipelago is home to around 56,000 people, who speak Faroese and have a distinct cultural identity.
Compared to other Nordic countries, Faroese society is considered relatively conservative, with more than three-quarters of the population members of the Lutheran church.
Previous attempts to liberalize abortion laws have failed. More recently, in May last year, an almost identical bill resulted in a tie vote, failing to achieve the majority needed to pass the Faroese parliament.
