The impact of liberalized abortion legislation on contraceptive practice in Denmark

During the fifteen months following the 1973 Danish abortion legislation, the mean annual rate of induced abortion was 23 per 1,000 women aged 15-44 compared with a mean annual rate of 14.5 during the 15 preceding months. Though use of legal abortion has increased, the rate is not of a magnitude to suggest large-scale abandonment of contraception. On the contrary, preconceptive fertility control continues to be widely practiced.