Women in Denmark entitled to receive aborted foetuses

After a number of complaints, the Ministry of Health provides clear guidelines

Lucie Rychla

The Ministry of Health has announced that women who undergo an abortion in Denmark must be informed about the possibility to receive the aborted foetus.

In some hospitals, the common practice is to dispose of foetuses alongside with other hospital waste and women haven’t been allowed to take them even if they asked.

At Herlev Hospital, for instance, aborted foetuses are usually cremated and buried in a common grave at a cemetery.

READ MORE: Drop in abortions continues, especially among teenagers

The ministry has thus decided to provide clear guidelines that should be followed by all hospitals in the country.

“There have been some ambiguities in the legislation but now it has been set to provide clear guidelines in this ethically complicated area,” Bjarne Rønde Kristensen, a senior doctor at the gyneacological and obstetric department at Odense University Hospital, told Berlingske.

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