Senate agrees to abolish mandatory 5-day abortion waiting period

Women who want to get an abortion will no longer have to wait five days before they can terminate their pregnancy. The Eerste Kamer, the upper house of Dutch parliament, voted in favor of a joint bill submitted by the PvdA, GroenLinks, VVD and D66 which abolishes the mandatory period of reflection. The Tweede Kamer, the lower house, already voted in favor of the bill. The amendment is expected to take effect on January 1, 2023.

The bill was passed by a total of 57 votes in favor and 17 against. The CDA members were divided, with four of its senators in favor and the other five opposed. Parties who voted entirely against the bill include the Christian parties SGP and ChristenUnie, two far-right parties, PVV and Forum for Democracy, and the sole senator from OSF, a cooperation of local parties across the Netherlands.

The five-day waiting period starts after consultation with a doctor. It was intended to help women make an "informed and careful" decision about an abortion. Proponents of the new bill said the law was outdated and needed to be changed because women are quite capable of making such a decision more quickly. In the future, a woman will be able to decide for herself, in consultation with a doctor and on a case-by-case basis, whether a thinking period is actually necessary.

In February, the Tweede Kamer voted by roll call on this issue, with party members able to determine their own vote instead of voting along party lines as is the norm. The members of the coalition parties delivered a divided vote, with the CDA and CU opposed to changing the law. Two of the VVD members in the lower house voted against the bill, and the PVV was also divided there. In the end, 101 MPs were in favor of the bill and 38 against.

D66 party chair Jan Paternotte is very happy that the law has been passed, he said in response. "Women can decide for themselves, together with the doctor, how much time they need to make a decision. The government does not have to do that for women. This was the only legal reflection period for a medical procedure, and it is good that it is now be deleted."

The VVD, PvdA and GroenLinks party leaders were also pleased. "This is an important step for women's freedom. A woman does not need a mandatory reflection period to make a well-considered and careful decision about her own body," VVD Tweede Kamer leader Sophie Hermans tweeted.

"It's good that women can now determine what they need in consultation with their doctor," PvdA leader Attje Kuiken said on Twitter.

"What a special moment. More than two-thirds of the members of the Eerste Kamer voted in favor of our private member's bill for the deliberation period on abortion," GroenLinks MP Corinne Ellemeet tweeted.