Thank you for testing your abortion knowledge by taking Supporting Abortions for Everyone – SAFE’s European abortion quiz. See below for the answers and the often shocking background context, for each of the true / false quiz questions.
Abortion is fully decriminalized in most European countries.
Answer: FALSE
In fact, with the exception of Northern Ireland, abortion is not fully decriminalized in ANY European country. Every country has something in the criminal code that punishes people who have abortions, people who perform abortions or people who help others get abortions.
In countries where abortion is legal, everyone who wants or needs one can actually get one.
Answer: FALSE
While abortion is legal in most European countries, there is a vast difference between abortion being legal and abortion being accessible – or possible. Costs, mandatory wait periods, conscientious objection, distance between clinics, and more barriers can exist.
In Hungary, you might have to attend up to five appointments before you’re allowed to get an abortion.
Answer: TRUE
To have an abortion in Hungary, you need to attend two counselling sessions that must take place at least one week apart. You need to bring an ultrasound scan to the first appointment, and this can take one or more trips to healthcare providers. Many report that it is hard to book an appointment for the second counselling session. In addition, there is a requirement to listen to the fetal heartbeat, and much of what people are told is medical misinformation designed to deter people from getting abortions.
In Germany, abortion ads were banned under a Nazi-era law — and that law remained in effect until 2022.
Answer: TRUE
Prior to the overtun in June 2022, doctors were prevented from even providing information about their provision of abortion. Before this time, putting “abortion” or “termination of pregnancy” as a service provided on a practice website would have been considered against the law. You can read more here.
In Poland, abortion in cases of rape is only allowed if it has been officially confirmed by a prosecutor.
Answer: TRUE
In Poland, abortion is only allowed for cases of rape (or incest) if the pregnant person has a certificate from a prosecutor proving that a rape occured, Abortion in these cases is only available up to the 12th week of pregnancy. In 2024, there were two abortions “allowed” by the Polish government under the rape exception.
In Romania, 80% of public hospitals won’t provide abortions.
Answer: TRUE
According to research done by activists in Romania, 80% of public hospitals will not provide abortion care. It is also true that some of the same doctors who won’t do abortions in public hospital will do them in private clinics – for up to 10 times the cost.
In Italy, over 70% of gynecologists refuse to perform abortions, mostly due to personal or religious beliefs.
Answer: TRUE
Not only do 72% of gynecologists in Italy refuse to perform abortions across the country of Italy, but in the southern half of the country that number is closer to 95%.
The largest group helping people access abortions in Poland isn’t the Polish healthcare system, it’s a group of grassroots activists who support around 50,000 people a year.
Answer: TRUE
Under Poland’s draconian abortion law, which was made even more restrictive from January 2021, fewer than 200 abortions are done by the Polish state each year. At the same time, Abortion Without Borders, of which SAFE is part, helps about 50,000 people in Poland have abortions each year, or roughly 125 every day.
When Women on Waves brought their “abortion boat” to Portugal in 2004, a military ship intervened to stop them.
Answer: TRUE
This absolutely happened – and three years later the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Portuguese government violated Women on Web’s freedom of expression by preventing the ship’s passage. A national referendum held two and a half years later legalized abortion on request to 10 weeks in Portugal.
Most countries in Europe protect a woman’s right to have an abortion over a doctor or healthcare facility’s right to refuse to provide abortion care.
Answer: FALSE.
Alas, only one country in Europe does not allow conscientious objection of abortion providers, and that is Sweden. Norway recently changed its abortion law to allow abortion on request to 18 weeks instead of 12, but while they will not allow cleaning staff, nurses or others involved in abortion to object to working with abortion care, they do allow doctors to object.
Will you share the quiz?
Please share the quiz with your friends, to help raise awareness of just how dire the abortion situation is in Europe.