Samenvatting

Belgium and the Netherlands legalized voluntary termination of pregnancy a few decades ago under certain conditions. In both legislations the abortion doctor must also investigate whether other possibilities exist to meet the woman’s request for help. In this contribution the author examines to what extent adoption can be a reasonable alternative to an abortion. It appears that adoption is often not considered in the abortion request, with the result that opportunities are lost for the woman, the unborn child and society to avoid a termination of pregnancy after all.