Netherlands: contraceptive pill used less, number of abortions rising

Fewer and fewer Dutch young people are using the contraceptive pill. This is reported by Dutch public broadcaster NOS. While 38 per cent of 16- to 49-year-olds were on the pill in 2014, this has now dropped to 29 per cent. Most women switch to an IUD, but a significant proportion also switch to 'natural' contraception. They monitor their fertile periods through an app to avoid getting pregnant. But the latter group is increasingly reporting to an abortion clinic.

Although there are no official statistics, the Dutch Association of Abortion Doctors (NGVA) bases its findings on signals from several abortion clinics in the country. "It mainly concerns women between the ages of 18 and 28. But we also see more and more young girls. The increase seems to go along with a so-called hormone phobia."

'Natural contraception' often refers to forms of contraception where nothing is added to the body, i.e. no pill or (hormone) coil. Instead, it closely monitors the natural cycle through temperature measurement, among other things. "These are girls, for example, who do not yet want a child, use an app to track when they are fertile and do not use any other form of contraception. And then things sometimes go wrong," says NGVA chairman Raïna Brethouwer.

In the Netherlands, it is possible to terminate a pregnancy up to 24 weeks. For years, the number of abortions per year has hovered around 30,000.