The parliament of the Faroe Islands voted on Thursday to legalize abortion until the end of the 12th week of pregnancy, overturning a decades-old law that prohibited abortions in most cases.
Previous legislation allowed abortions only in certain circumstances - such as rape, incest or risk to the health of the pregnant woman - and meant the self-governing Danish territory had among the most restrictive abortion policies in Europe.
Following a heated parliamentary debate, the decision came down to the wire, with MPs narrowly voting in favor of the reform, by 17 to 16.
This is truly a historic day in the Faroe Islands, said Ingilín Didriksen Strømm, one of the four MPs who tabled the bill.
Strømm told the BBC: This change finally affirms women's autonomy over their own bodies in the Faroe Islands.
It guarantees access to safe healthcare, and it also protects our freedom to make decisions about our own lives without fear, without stigma and without criminalization, she added.
The new legislation in the Faroe Islands - located between Scotland and Norway - is expected to come into effect on 1 July next year, replacing laws dating back to 1956.
Under that legislation, abortions could only be performed in special circumstances - which included severe fetal health problems or if the woman is deemed unfit to care for the child.
Whether a woman is unfit or not is judged first by a GP, and then a second medical body, before an abortion is granted. Both the woman and the doctor risked imprisonment if the conditions were not met.
Faroese pro-choice campaigners have argued the legislation was outdated and impinged on women's rights.
This is a colossal change, Bjørt Lind from pro-choice campaign group Fritt Val told Danish newspaper Politiken.
In a statement to the BBC, Amnesty International's Faroe Islands branch said: After years of campaigning we finally have a law respecting women's and all pregnant people's rights to a safe and legal abortion until week 12.
With limited access to abortions in the Faroe Islands, campaign groups said women often had to travel to Denmark for the procedure.
Opponents of the law change argued that the rights of the fetus should be protected. Erhard Joensen, an MP who voted against Thursday's bill, expressed concern about the lack of support for the new law. Despite debates, the remote archipelago remains conservative, with a strong Lutheran influence, where previous attempts to liberalize abortion laws had failed.
