title: Induced abortion in the Nordic countries: special emphasis on young women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To analyze the trends in legally induced abortions among women younger than 30 years in the five Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, since the liberalized abortion laws came into force.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data stem from national registrations of vital events. Some have been published in the national vital statistics while others have been retrieved for this study. General and age-specific abortion rates are used to analyze the trends. Further, an index has been calculated by dividing the age-specific abortion rates by the Nordic average.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analysis reveals an overall reduction in the general abortion rates in the Nordic countries, apart from Iceland. The rates have been highest in Denmark and Sweden and lowest in Finland since the early 1980s. In the mid-1980s, the abortion rates increased among 15-19-year-old women in Sweden and among 20-24-year-old women in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, followed by a reduction. In Iceland the very low age-specific abortion rates for all age groups under 30 years at the beginning of the study period increased and Iceland had the highest rate for 15-19-year-old women in the late-1990s.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The relatively low abortion rates in Finland demonstrate effective preventive efforts, although the recent increase challenges further studies on the relationship between abortion rates and counseling activities. The rise in abortion rates in Iceland indicate a need for improved sex education, contraceptive services and availability of contraceptive methods for young people.
authors.affiliation: Danish Center for Demographic Research, University of Southern Denmark.
authors.forename: Lisbeth B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Knudsen
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gissler
authors.forename: Soley S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Bender
authors.forename: Clas
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hedberg
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ollendorff
authors.forename: Kajsa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sundström
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Totlandsdal
authors.forename: Sigridur
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vilhjalmsdottir
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000639:trends*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland; D007878:Legislation as Topic / Q000639:trends; D011247:Pregnancy; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries