The parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory of Denmark, narrowly voted on Wednesday to reform its decades-old abortion law, approving access to abortion “on request” up to the end of the twelfth week of pregnancy. The legislative change, passed by a razor-thin margin of 17 votes to 16, marks a historic shift for a jurisdiction long known for one of the most restrictive abortion regimes in Europe.

The vote follows years of pressure from international bodies and regional stakeholders. A 2021 dialogue organised by Nordic Council in cooperation with the United Nations CEDAW raised concerns that the Faroe Islands’ law violated women’s rights to health, equality, and reproduction. The CEDAW rapporteur argued that failure to reform the law risked pushing women toward unsafe abortions or forcing them to travel abroad, thereby undermining their health.

In a statement accompanying the vote, Amnesty International said the decision is “an important step towards ensuring the provision of safe and legal abortion.” 

The Center for Reproductive Rights has documented how European countries reformed abortion laws over time, marking the growing regional norm of broader reproductive choice. The newly approved legislation will abolish that restrictive framework and align the Faroe Islands closely with neighboring jurisdictions.

Under the previous law dating to 1956, abortions were only allowed in very limited circumstances: cases of rape or incest, threat to the woman’s life or health, serious foetal impairment, or certain social grounds. For years, the restrictive abortion law stood out as anomalous among its Nordic neighbours.

In that light, the vote may be better understood as a starting point, not an endpoint. For many activists and human rights observers, the ultimate goal remains the full decriminalization of abortion and the removal of punitive sanctions for those seeking or providing abortion services.