Pregnant Norwegian woman have been allowed to undergo abortions in Sweden after finding out the sex of their child, according to new revelations from a medical ethics consultant in Oslo.
These trips are a fact, according to a Swedish professor colleague.
“We know that it happens as people have told us,” said director Sissel Rogne at the Biotechnology Advisory Board (Bioteknologinämnden) to Svenska Dagbladet (SvD).
Rogne explains that in Norway it is forbidden to undergo an abortion on the grounds of gender.
Gynaecologist Lars Hamberger in Gothenburg confirmed to SvD that the abortion trips are a known fact. He expressed understanding for the women.
“If they have three, four girls and are from Turkey the demands on them to produce a boy are strong.”
“In certain cases I can understand the problem.”
In Norway, as in Denmark, the 12th week is the limit for abortion in the absence of any special circumstances while the limit in Sweden is 18 weeks.
Norway has introduced a ban on identifying the gender of a child before the 12 week of pregnancy.
But in reality the information can be made available and women in general demand to know, according to Bo Sultan at Uppsala University Hospital.
Sultan has previously worked in Norway. It is, he says, “of course a dilemma” that Norwegian woman turn to Sweden.
“I have not personally had a patient that has crossed the border, but then that is nothing one would show off about,” Sultan said.