Abortions among young teenagers 2.5 times as frequent
The IGJ recorded a sharp rise among girls under fifteen in 2025, but gives no explanation for the increase.
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In 2025, 163 girls under fifteen had a pregnancy termination, compared with 65 in 2024. That is more than 2.5 times as many, according to the new annual report by the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ).
The number of pregnancy terminations also rose among teenagers aged fifteen to nineteen inclusive: from 2,749 in 2024 to 2,918 in 2025. That amounts to an increase of around 6 per cent. In total, 39,931 pregnancy terminations were recorded in the Netherlands and the Caribbean Netherlands, compared with 39,438 a year earlier.
The figures appear in the annual report on the Termination of Pregnancy Act. Hospitals, abortion clinics and GPs provide the inspectorate with anonymised and aggregated data for this purpose. Since 1 January 2025, specially trained GPs have also been allowed to carry out medical pregnancy terminations; 339 were reported by GPs in the first year of registration.
The increase among the youngest group stands out because the number fluctuated in the preceding years. In 2023, 107 pregnancy terminations were recorded among girls under fifteen; in 2024, that figure fell to 65. The report contains age-based figures, but no information that would establish the backgrounds of individual cases.
The IGJ is therefore also warning against quick conclusions. The data show how often treatments were registered, but not why the number is changing. Based on the anonymised registration, the inspectorate cannot establish a link with, for example, sex education, contraceptive use, help-seeking behaviour or the circumstances surrounding a pregnancy.
The overall increase is more limited than that among the youngest age group: the number of registered treatments rose by 493 nationwide. Among women living in the Netherlands, 36,645 pregnancy terminations were recorded. The abortion rate was 10.8 per thousand women aged 15 to 44 inclusive, compared with 10.6 in 2024.
The new figures are expected to fuel the debate on prevention and access to abortion care once again. The report itself makes no policy recommendations and does not assess whether the increase should prompt different sex education, better access to contraception or changes to care.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- In 2025, the IGJ recorded 163 pregnancy terminations among girls under fifteen, compared with 65 in 2024.
- The total number of registered pregnancy terminations was 39,931 in 2025.
- The IGJ gives no explanation for the increase in its annual report.
Left
Arguments The figures should primarily be read as a signal to keep accessible care, comprehensive sex education and reliable contraception available. An increase must not lead to additional stigma or barriers for girls and women seeking help.
Values Bodily autonomy, equal access to care and protection of vulnerable young people.
Consequences More prevention and accessible support could help prevent unwanted pregnancies, but require structural investment and careful protection of privacy.
Centre
Arguments The figures first justify better research into the background before policy is changed. Prevention, access to care and support for families can coexist; the registration should therefore be supplemented with non-identifiable context.
Values Carefulness, feasibility and institutional reliability.
Consequences A step-by-step approach prevents hasty measures, but may mean that some of the causes remain unclear for the time being.
Right
Arguments Policy should focus more strongly on preventing unwanted pregnancies, with attention to responsibility, upbringing and parental involvement where this is safe. From this perspective, the increase among the youngest group calls for targeted prevention, not automatically an expansion of healthcare provision.
Values Responsibility, protection of minors and restraint regarding medicalisation.
Consequences Targeted prevention could reduce demand for care, but too much emphasis on control or consent could make access more difficult for vulnerable young people.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The key figures were checked directly against the new IGJ report and correspond with the independent ANP account. The article makes no causal claims about the increase.
- confirmed In 2025, 163 pregnancy terminations were recorded among girls under fifteen, compared with 65 in 2024. — Age table in the IGJ report. source
- confirmed The number in the youngest group was more than 2.5 times as high as in 2024. — 163 divided by 65 is approximately 2.51. source
- confirmed Among teenagers aged fifteen to nineteen inclusive, the number rose from 2,749 to 2,918. — Age table in the IGJ report. source
- confirmed A total of 39,931 pregnancy terminations were recorded in 2025. — Total table in the IGJ report. source
- confirmed GPs registered 339 medical pregnancy terminations in 2025. — Treatment table in the IGJ report. source
- confirmed The IGJ gives no explanation for the increase. — The report contains key figures but no interpretation of the causes. source
Editor's note
The increases and totals come from the IGJ report for reporting year 2025. The inspectorate gives no explanation for the trend; causes have therefore not been filled in.Sources
- IGJ Jaarrapportage 2025 Wet afbreking zwangerschap (Wafz) — Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal / IGJ
- Jaarrapportage 2025 Wet afbreking zwangerschap — Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd
- Inspectie ziet fors meer abortussen bij jonge tieners — ANP via Zeelandnet