A Swedish government-commissioned investigation recommended a legislative reform to the country’s abortion law on Monday. One propsed reform is to allow home abortions, without requiring patients to visit a clinic for their first prescription. The recommendation package marks the first legal reform in nearly 50 years after the abortion law came into force.

The report submitted several proposed amendments to the government. These include provisions on how medical abortion can be carried out at home, recommendations for adapting the law to medical advancements, and proposals to modernize the language of the abortion law.

While individuals have the freedom to choose their preferred method, current legislation requires that the first abortion pill be taken in a clinic. For home abortions, the procedure must be carried out before the tenth week of pregnancy, with the second medication taken at home to complete the process. The proposal now seeks to allow home abortions fully but continues to require that medical abortion must be offered by clinics.

According to special investigator Inga-Maj Andersson’s recent report, approximately 35,000 abortions are performed in Sweden each year, with 96 percent being medical abortions conducted either in clinics or at home.

Midwife Åsa Mörner, a board member of the Swedish Association of Health Professionals, welcomed the proposed changes, particularly the removal of the clinic visit requirement. “We find the proposals to be positive, especially the removal of the requirement to visit an abortion clinic since there could be women who have difficulties with visiting a clinic, for example, if they have to travel far,” she told Euractiv.

Furthermore, the inquiry proposes several conceptual changes, including replacing the term “perform an abortion” with “right to have an abortion.” It also maintains that abortions after the twelfth week of pregnancy must continue to be conducted in hospitals due to the need for additional medication and pain management.

Additionally, the inquiry suggests replacing the word “woman” with “pregnant person” in abortion legislation. However, the Tidö parties have already decided not to move forward with this specific change. The Tidö parties recognize concerns about how such a change might affect women’s equality, with critics arguing that it could contribute to the erasure of women by reducing their identity to their reproductive role.

The Swedish Abortion Act, enacted in 1974, granted women the right to decide for themselves whether to terminate a pregnancy within the first eighteen weeks, and it has remained unchanged since then. In June 2023, the government launched an inquiry to assess potential changes to abortion legislation, aiming to align it with medical advancements and prioritize the needs of pregnant individuals.

Now, Swedish Minister of Health Acko Ankarberg Johansson will review the proposals and report on how they will be implemented. These changes will potentially bring Sweden in line with other Nordic countries, such as Norway and Iceland, where similar reforms have already been adopted.