Finland
Legal | Abortion Pills | Local Organizations | Scam List
Abortion Laws and Policies
Overview
Abortion is permitted up to 12 weeks of pregnancy in cases of: rape, incest, economic or social reasons, an age under 17 or above 40 years old, the person already having 4 children, illness or mental disturbance or if one or both parents are unable to care for the child. If the person was under 17 at the time of conception or there are other exceptional reasons the 12 week limit can be extended up to 20 weeks. Other than that, an abortion up to 20 weeks of pregnancy is only permitted if the pregnancy endangers the woman or person’s health. Abortion is also permitted in cases of intellectual or cognitive impairment of the woman or person. For this case no limitation regarding the lengths of pregnancy is mentioned in the legal text.
A police report is required in cases of rape. Penal law criminalizes women and pregnant people as well as doctors and providers for doing an abortion outside of the legal conditions specified in the law. The Finnish law on abortion states that "the physician with authority to render an opinion and the operating physician shall not be entitled, without reason, to refuse to consider a request for termination of pregnancy". Medical practitioners and providers do not have the right to refuse abortion services based on personal beliefs without reason.
Claim your rights
Access to abortion is a fundamental human right and a basic healthcare need. If you live in a country with restrictions to abortion access, you can visit Women on Web to request abortion pills or learn more about the local support and resources available in your country.
About Abortion Pills
An abortion with pills is a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy at home. There are two ways to have an abortion with pills:
- Have an abortion with a pill called Mifepristone and another pill called Misoprostol;
- Have an abortion with the pill Misoprostol only.
You already have abortion pills? Find instructions, information around dosage, safety precautions and tips here.
Mifepristone
Mifepristone is officially registered by the country’s pharmaceutical authority.
A doctor's prescription may be required to get Mifepristone.
Mifepristone can be bought in in hospitals or under medical supervision only
Misoprostol
Misoprostol is registered
It is registered for gynecological indications (such as birth, miscarriage treatment or abortion care etc.)
There is currently no data available on whether or not a prescription is needed to get Misoprostol.
There is no data on regulations around the distribution of Misoprostol available.
These are brand names under which Mifepristone, Misoprostol or Combi Packs (that contain both abortion pills Mifepristone and Misoprostol) are officially distributed and/or commonly found in the country.
Brand names
Mifepristone:
Mifegyne 200mg Exelgyn
Mifepristone Linepharma 200 mg
Misoprostol:
Cytotec 200 mcg Pfizer Ltd
Arthrotec 50 or 75 (200 mcg) **contains Diclofenac
Angusta 25 mcg (shortage until 31.10.2022)
Safety notice
There are pills that contain a combination of Misoprostol and the painkiller Diclofenac. While manufactured for a different purpose they can still be used for abortion. Specific instructions need to be followed to avoid overdosing the Diclofenac.
Local Organizations and Resources
No local organizations.
Scams
Watch out for fake abortion clinics and sellers online. See or contribute to our list of scams & stay safe!
Other Databases and Sources
These are the sources and databases used to gather the information listed on this country profile.
- 08.08.2022/Medical Abortion Commodities Database: https://www.medab.org/advanced-search-multiple-results?country=397&commodity=all&brand=all#multiple-search-result
- 08.08.2022/ National Medicine Authority; Misoprostol: https://www.fimea.fi/web/en/databases_and_registers/fimeaweb?query=misoprostol&humanmed=true&selfcare=true&receptmed=true&marketedmed=true&prefillonly=false
- 08.08.2022/National Medicine Authority; Mifepristone: https://www.fimea.fi/web/en/databases_and_registers/fimeaweb?query=mifepristone&humanmed=true&selfcare=true&receptmed=true&marketedmed=true&prefillonly=false
- 09.08.2022/WHO, Global Abortion Policies Database: https://abortion-policies.srhr.org/country/finland/
- 21.08.2022/European Abortion Policies Atlas: https://europe.ippf.org/resource/european-abortion-policies-atlas
- 08.12.2022/REDAAS conscientious objection map: https://www.redaas.org.ar/conscientious-objection-map
- 08.12.2022/Center for Reproductive Rights. The World’s Abortion Laws: https://reproductiverights.org/maps/worlds-abortion-laws/
Community Comments
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