February 9, 2018
Family planning is part of the Slovenian healthcare system and it includes contraception and termination of pregnancy. Abortion is legal and performed at the patient's request within the first 10 weeks of gestation. Termination of pregnancy after 10 weeks can only be performed at the patient's request if a commission is able to establish that going ahead with the pregnancy would be more risky to the woman than having an abortion, or that the foetus has a serious defect.
Emergency contraception
Emergency contraception, commonly referred to as the morning-after pill, should not be confused with medically-induced abortion, as the pill prevents conception and should therefore be taken within 3- 5 days (this depends on the pill) following the incident of sexual intercourse during which regular contraceptive methods had either failed or not been used. The morning-after pills (NorLevo, Escapelle, and EllaOne, to name a few) can be bought over-the-counter at any pharmacist (in smaller towns these are attached to the local clinic, for Ljubljana, locate them on Google maps by typing in lekarna), and its cost (around 10 EUR) is not covered by your compulsory or complementary health insurance plans.
Abortion
As noted above, a woman can get an abortion on demand within the first 10 weeks, and later if approved by a commission. However, it is important to note that you should start counting the days and weeks of the pregnancy from the first day of the last menstrual period, and not from what may be thought (or known) to be the date of conception.
There are two types of abortion currently performed in every hospital with an obstetrics department. To get to this stage you need to see your personal gynaecologist first. There the time of pregnancy will be determined and a referral for the abortion given, which always takes place in a hospital. As there are two types of abortion a woman can opt for, namely a medical one (drug induced) and surgical one, a gynaecologist will also give advice on this and explain both procedures in detail. A medical procedure usually takes longer (two visits), but is less physically invasive, while a surgical procedure is fast and over in one visit (and note that all such surgical procedures take place in the morning).
The cost of both medical and surgical abortions is covered by your health insurance, if you have it. The full cost of an abortion in Slovenia is somewhere between 300 and 600 EUR, depending on the procedure and any complications. Compulsory health insurance for residents covers 85% of the cost, complementary insurance covers the rest. In other words, the procedure is free of charge for compulsory (or EU equivalent) and complementary insurance holders.
