The government of Denmark announced a new legal measure regarding abortion, which has been decriminalized in the European country since 1973. lowers the age limit for adolescents to terminate a pregnancy without parental consent from 18 to 15.

“The legal age for sexual intercourse is 15 years old. It is also 15 years to be able to consent to treatment in the health system. Therefore, we believe that it is correct that an abortion can be performed between the ages of 15 and 17 without parental involvement,” explains Marie Bjerre, the Minister of Equality.

“Abortion can be accompanied by many emotions, guilt and shame. Asking for parental consent from a child under 18 can be humiliating and have serious consequencesthe minister wrote on Twitter.

Bjerre also admitted that terminating a pregnancy is not an “easy choice” and that it is important that young women in this situation seek support from those around them and turn to trusted people, such as friends, brothers or teachers.

“It is a very difficult choice. But it is not a parental choice. It belongs to the young woman, because it is her own body and her own life.a,” added the official, who announced the measure on the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of abortion in Denmark.

This country was one of the first in Western Europe to grant the right to legally terminate a pregnancy. Before 1973, women needed a doctor’s permission to have an abortion.