NETHERLANDS-ABORTION-TBs-CEDAW

Concluding Observations on Report 6 (2016) (Link)

Health

37. The Committee welcomes the steps taken by the State party to raise awareness among stakeholders, such as doctors and insurance companies, about the need for gender-sensitive health care, including the drawing up of a strategic plan for the launch of a widely supported health-care programme. Nevertheless, the Committee notes with concern that no information was provided about the human, technical and financial resources allocated to that programme and whether special attention has been paid to intersecting forms of discrimination. The Committee notes with particular concern that:

(a) Medication for menstrual regulation such as Misoprostol is still not available at pharmacies by prescription from general medical practitioners;

(b) In Sint Maarten, abortion is illegal and the Penal Code criminalizes anyone who provides abortion-related information or services;

(c) In Curaçao, contraceptives are not covered by health insurance and, although they can be purchased at an affordable price from government-sponsored non-governmental organizations, only a limited number of women use modern contraceptives;

(d) In some parts of Curaçao, there are insufficient health-care specialists providing HIV/AIDS-specific care and, while antiretroviral medicines are available, it can be difficult to have access to them and they cost 17 times more than the internationally recommended prices;

(e) The incidence of HIV is increasing in Aruba.

38. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Provide information in the next periodic report on the strategic plan for the launch of a widely supported health-care programme, in particular the human, technical and financial resources allocated to the programme and whether special attention has been paid to intersecting forms of discrimination;

(b) Ensure that medication for menstrual regulation such as Misoprostol is readily available at pharmacies;

(c) Amend relevant provisions of the Penal Code of Sint Maarten to legalize the termination of pregnancy in cases of rape, incest, risk to the physical or mental health or life of the pregnant woman and severe impairment of the foetus, and decriminalize abortion in all other cases, and ensure that the new policy on sexual and reproductive health that is being finalized by the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour guarantees the availability and accessibility of legal and medically safe modern methods of abortion on the above grounds, in line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 24 (1999) on women and health;

(d) Introduce programmes, including awareness-raising programmes, to promote the use of modern contraceptives in Curaçao, including by women and adolescent girls, and address any barriers in access to them;

(e) Take appropriate steps, including the recruitment and training of medical personnel, to ensure that specialized HIV/AIDS-related health-care services are available in all parts of Curaçao and address barriers in access to antiretroviral medicines, including by reducing the cost thereof;

(f) Analyse the root causes of the increase in the incidence of HIV in Aruba and take specific steps to address them, including through awareness- raising programmes for women and girls on prevention and the use of modern contraceptives.

---

Concluding Observations on Report 5 (2010) (Link)

[no mention]

---

Concluding Observations on Report 4 (2007) (Link)

[no mention]

---

Concluding Observations on Report 2-3 (2001) (Link)

[no mention]

---

Concluding Observations on Report 1 (1994) (Link)

301. Members of the Committee requested clarification about the abortion policy in the country. It was explained that the reason for the five-day waiting period was to safeguard responsible decision-making and to give the women the chance of reconsidering if they wished to. Abortion could be carried out only by a physician in a hospital or clinic with a permit and was allowed only in a medically or socially untenable situation in which it was deemed necessary.

---