An analysis of the years from 2008 to 2017 shows that the number of abortions up to the 10th week of pregnancy rose until 2011, but since then has been gradually falling, according to a report just out from the Directorate General of Health (DGS) that contains both detailed data from 2017 and an in-depth analysis of the last decade.


In 2017, there were 14,899 abortions at the request of the woman – the lowest figure since the practice became legal in Portugal in 2007 and down 3.4 percent from the 2016 total. It is also down 25.2 percent from the 2011 total of 19,921.


The average age of women at the time of the abortion remains 28, as in 2008, and women aged between 20 and 34 “have always been the most numerous” among those having abortions.


There was also a decrease in the number of all abortions (not just at the request of the woman) in adolescents but an increase in all abortions in women aged 40 or older.


The report also notes that Portugal’s rate of abortions is below the European Union average, at 192 per thousand live births, against an EU mean of 203.