The rules regarding abortions
Abortion costs are covered 100% by Assurance Maladie
A ‘medication’ abortion is possible by taking prescribed drugs, up to the seventh week of pregnancy, after which it is necessary to use surgical intervention.
A surgical abortion is permitted on the woman’s decision, up to 14 weeks of pregnancy.
Before having an abortion a woman must have two medical consultations, during which a doctor (GP or gynaecologist) or midwife informs her about the process, and the woman decides to have the procedure and chooses the method.
A ‘psycho-social’ interview is also offered to discuss her situation further with a trained adviser. A medical check-up consultation is also required around two to three weeks after the abortion.
Abortions are an exception to the rule by which you must see your GP to obtain full reimbursement if you see another professional without his or her referral.
Abortion costs are covered 100% by Assurance Maladie and it is not necessary to advance any money for those who are in the French health system (the process benefits from the tiers payant scheme).
State tariffs vary depending on the setting in which it is carried out and the procedures required.
For a medication abortion in hospital or clinic everything is covered, without an upfront fee, at a fixed tariff of €353.64. A surgical abortion is covered 100% based on a fixed fee which varies from €579.06 to €830.06. This does not include the two preliminary consultations, which are reimbursed in the standard way.
For abortions in other settings, eg. at a doctor or nurse’s practice, costs break down into various elements, such as preliminary investigations, consultation costs, cost of medicines and administering them, and follow-up examinations and consultations.