The United Nations International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo in 1994, recognized unsafe abortion as a major public health concern. The World Health Organization estimates that about 75,000 women die each year from unskilled abortion. Damage to women's health and the burden of care that falls on often-scarce hospital resources also add to the costly impact of poorly performed abortion on public health systems.
Abortions are usually performed without adequate skill because of laws that make safe, medically performed abortion services unlawful. Within the last two centuries, and particularly during the twentieth century, abortion has been criminalized. It was only in the closing decades of the last century that laws have recognized women's needs and rights to have access to safe abortion services.
Historically, many customary laws condemned the interruption of pregnancy, whether by herbal or invasive means, because of the harm it presented to women. Pregnancy was evidenced only at about the end of the first trimester of pregnancy (at about 13 weeks), the stage called quickening. Church courts imposed more severe sanctions than secular courts, and were more concerned with unborn human life and abortions that occurred earlier in pregnancy. The first abortion legislation enacted in the English-speaking world was an English law of 1803 that punished whoever acted "to cause and procure the miscarriage of any woman then being quick with child." Later enactments more strictly imposed liability on pregnant women themselves, and, because proof that women had been "quick with child" was often difficult to establish, the offense was redefined as occurring whether women had "quickened" or not.
Advances in medicine in time provided better understanding of human conception and gestation, directing more attention to fetal and embryonic life. For instance, the Roman Catholic Church, whose moral teachings had been reflected in laws of many European countries, had condemned abortion after the stage of development at which it believed the soul had entered the body before birth. In 1869, however, it accepted that protected life began at conception. This made abortion a crime in many legal systems at any stage of gestation. Modern developments in abortion laws can be traced from when abortion was controlled only as a crime to be punished to its later legal accommodation to protect the health and well-being of pregnant women and their dependent born children and to its modern recognition as a woman's right to lawful choice.
The Crime of Abortion
The laws of many countries, particularly those that experienced colonization by European countries and are influenced by religious doctrines, continue to view abortion only as a criminal offense. Some countries whose criminal laws punish the willful taking of human life reinforce the prohibition of abortion by adding, sometimes in their national constitutions, that human life begins at conception. Punishments vary from a few years' custody to life imprisonment. Under Nazi occupation, France imposed a punishment of execution. Almost all laws recognize, however, that abortion procedures aimed in good faith to save a woman's life do not offend the criminal law, or are at least excusable, nonpunishable violations.
Abortions for Health and Welfare Purposes
In the mid-1960s, recognition grew that women often sought abortion for conscientious reasons, and that its medical restriction could be oppressive and unjust, causing women acting for justifiable reasons to go to unskilled illegal practitioners or to make crude interventions in their own bodies. Britain's Abortion Act of 1967, as amended in 1990, decriminalizes abortion before the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy if "the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or any existing children of her family." Abortion also became lawful after twenty-four weeks when necessary to prevent risk to the life or grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman, and when "there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped." Health care providers, however, have a right of conscientious objection, and cannot be required to participate in abortion procedures.
Since 1967, about seventy-five countries in all regions of the world, including Guyana, India, South Africa, and Romania, have liberalized their abortion laws. Reformed laws allow abortion at various times from conception to twelve or more weeks, and to save life, health, and other interests. Perhaps the best-known reforming court judgment was made by the United States Supreme Court in 1973, in the case of Roe v. Wade. The Court recognized that a woman has a constitutionally protected right to terminate pregnancy until her fetus is viable, which is at the end of the second trimester of pregnancy (about twenty-four weeks' gestation), and that after viability states may regulate abortion to save the life or health of the mother. The judgment triggered a strong backlash, and continuing attempts have been made to have the Court reverse the judgment—and to change the Court's composition for this purpose. The Court was criticized for making new law, although sympathetic analysts found the Court had simply restored the law as it stood in 1787, when the United States wrote its Constitution and adopted much of the pre-1803 English criminal law.
Abortion As a Right of Women
An increasing number of countries now recognize a woman's right to exercise abortion choice for a time, usually until about twelve weeks after the beginning of pregnancy, and allow the procedure afterwards when faced with health, social, or other risk. In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada, in the case of R. v. Morgentaler, held the country's restrictive abortion law unconstitutional. The Chief Justice found that "forcing a woman, by threat of criminal sanction, to carry a fetus to term unless she meets certain criteria unrelated to her own priorities and aspirations is a profound interference with a woman's body and thus a violation of security of the person." The law was accordingly ruled void, and abortion is now regulated like any other medical procedure, allowing a woman to make her decision according to her own ethical judgment.
Human rights laws are increasingly giving priority to women's health, dignity, and capacity as the principal decision makers over their own reproduction. Countries whose laws criminalize abortion and compromise women's health and welfare are facing louder calls for reform. To counter this, conservative governments and religious authorities support restrictive laws and urge more prohibitions against abortion.
(SEE ALSO: Abortion; Maternal and Child Health; Public Health and the Law)
Bibliography
Boland, R. (1994). "Abortion Law World-Wide: A Survey of Recent Developments." In Essays in Honor of Jan Stepan, eds. I. Bednarikova and F. C. Chapman. Zurich: Schulthess Polygraphischer.
Cook, R. J.; Dickens, B. R.; and Bliss, L. E. (1999). "International Development in Abortion Law from 1988–1998." American Journal of Public Health 89(4): 579–586.
Rakman, A.; Katziol, L.; and Henshaw, S. K. (1998). "A Global Review of Laws on Induced Abortion, 1985–1997." International Family Planning Prospectus 24:56–64.
— REBECCA J. COOK
Abortion law is legislation and common law which pertains to the provision of abortion. Abortion has been a controversial subject in many societies through history because of the moral, ethical, practical, and political power issues that surround it. It has been banned frequently and otherwise limited by law. However, abortions continue to be common in many areas where they are illegal; abortion rates are similar in countries where the procedure is legal and in countries where it is not according to the World Health Organization (WHO),[2] due to unavailability of modern contraceptives in areas where abortion is illegal.[3] The number of abortions worldwide is declining due to increased access to contraception according to WHO.[2] Almost 2/3 of the world's women currently reside in countries where abortion may be obtained on request for a broad range of social, economic or personal reasons. Abortion laws vary widely by country, ranging from those in Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Malta and Vatican City, which ban the procedure entirely;[4] to those in the United Kingdom and the United States, which restrict abortion after the point of fetal viability; and those in Canada, Vietnam and China which have removed abortion completely from their criminal code.
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Abortion has been part of family planning since ancient times, with natural remedies being found amongst a wide variety of tribal people and in all our written sources. Our earliest texts contain no mention of abortion or abortion law. When it does appear, it is entailed in concerns about male property rights, preservation of social order, and the duty to produce fit citizens for the state or community. The harshest penalties were generally reserved for a woman who procured an abortion against her husband's wishes, and for slaves who produced abortion in a woman of high status. Religious texts often contained severe condemnations of abortion, recommending penance but seldom enforcing secular punishment.
As a matter of common law in England and the United States, abortion was illegal anytime after quickening – when the movements of the fetus could first be felt by the woman. Under the born alive rule, the fetus was not considered a "reasonable being" in rerum natura; and abortion was not treated as murder in English law.
In the 19th century, many Western countries began to use statutes to codify or place further restrictions on abortion. Pro-life forces were led by a combination of conservative groups opposed to abortion on moral grounds, and by medical professionals who were concerned about the danger presented by the procedure and the regular involvement of non-medical personnel in performing abortions. It became clear in the following years, however, that illegal abortions continued to take place in large numbers even where abortions were expressly illegal.[citation needed] It was difficult to obtain sufficient evidence to prosecute the women and abortion doctors, and judges and juries were often reluctant to convict. Henry Morgentaler, for instance, was never convicted by a jury. (He was acquitted by a jury in the 1973 court case, but the acquittal was overturned by five judges on the Quebec Court of Appeal in 1974. He went to prison, appealed, and was again acquitted. In total, he served 10 months, suffering a heart attack while in solitary confinement.) Many[citation needed] were also outraged at the invasion of privacy and the medical problems resulting from abortions taking place illegally in medically dangerous circumstances. Political movements soon coalesced around the legalization of abortion and liberalization of existing laws.
By the early 20th century, many countries had begun to legalize abortions when performed to protect the life of the woman, and in some cases to protect the health of the woman. Under Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet Union legalized all abortions in 1920, but this was fully reversed in 1936 by Joseph Stalin in order to increase population growth. In the 1930s, several countries (Poland, Turkey, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Mexico) legalized abortion in some special cases (rape, threat to mother's health, fetal malformation). In 1948 abortion was legalized in Japan, 1952 in Yugoslavia (on a limited basis) and 1955 in the Soviet Union (on demand). Some Soviet allies (Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania) legalized abortion in the late fifties under Soviet pressure[citation needed]. The adoption of contraceptives in the 1950s and 1960s in Western countries resulted in comparatively few statutory changes on abortion law. In Great Britain, the Abortion Act of 1967 clarified and prescribed abortions as legal up to 28 weeks. Other countries soon followed, including Canada (1969), the United States (1973 in most states, pursuant to the federal Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion nationwide), Tunisia (1973), France (1975), Austria (1975), New Zealand (1977), Italy (1978), the Netherlands (1980) and Belgium (1990). However, these countries vary greatly in the circumstances under which abortion is permitted. In 1975, the West German Supreme Court struck down a law legalizing abortion, holding that they contradict the constitution's human rights guarantees. In 1976 a law was adopted which enabled abortions up to 12 weeks. After Germany's reunification, despite the legal status of abortion in the former East Germany, a compromise was reached which deemed most abortions up to 22 weeks legal.
In addition to national and regional laws, there are treaties that may actually be enforced on or within their parties. However, there is an inherent difficulty in the enforcement of international law due to the issue that state sovereignty poses. As such, the effectiveness of even binding multi-national efforts to legislate the rights to life and liberty in general, or abortion in specific, is difficult to measure.
On average, the frequency of abortions is similar in developing countries (where abortion is generally restricted) to the frequency in developed countries (where abortion is generally much less restricted).[5][6] Abortion rates are very difficult to measure in locations where those abortions are illegal,[7] and pro-life groups have criticized researchers for allegedly jumping to conclusions about those numbers.[8] According to the Guttmacher Institute and the United Nations Population Fund, the abortion rate in developing countries is largely attributable to lack of access to modern contraceptives; assuming no change in abortion laws, providing that access to contraceptives would result in about 25 million fewer abortions annually, including almost 15 million fewer unsafe abortions.[3]
The following series of tables present the current abortion legislation of the world's nations as divided by continent. Actual access to abortion may vary significantly on the basis of geography, income, cost, health care, social factors, and other issues. Many jurisdictions also place other restrictions on abortion access, including waiting periods, the provision of information, the assent of multiple doctors, and parental notification. Legend
| Country | To protect woman's life | Physical health | Mental health | Rape | Fetal defects | Socio-economic factors | On request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 2nd | 2nd | No | No | No | No | |
| 1st | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | ? | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | 1st | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | 1st | Yes | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | ? | No | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | ? | ? | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| Restricted | Restricted | Restricted | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Restricted | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| 1st | 1st | 1st | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | 1st (illegal, but selectively allowed)[9] | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| 1st | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | Yes | 2nd | 1st | |
| Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| 1st | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No | |
| Yes | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Country | To protect woman's life | Physical health | Mental health | Rape | Fetal defects | Socio-economic factors | On request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | 1st | 1st | Yes | Yes | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | 2nd (up to 24 weeks) | 2nd (up to 24 weeks) | 2nd (up to 24 weeks) | 2nd (up to 24 weeks) | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (de facto under socio-economic factors) | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (de facto) | Yes (de facto as abortions are not punished) | |
| No | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| 1st | 1st | 1st | No | No | No | No | |
| Restricted | Restricted | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | 2nd (up to 24 weeks) | 2nd (up to 24 weeks) | 2nd (up to 24 weeks) | Yes | 2nd (up to 24 weeks) | 2nd (up to 24 weeks) | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Law is unclear | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Country | To protect woman's life | Physical health | Mental health | Rape | Fetal defects | Socio-economic factors | On request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | 2nd (20 weeks) | 2nd (20 weeks) | 2nd (20 weeks) | 2nd (20 weeks) | 1st | |
| 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | |
| 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | |
| No | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | |
| 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | |
| 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st |
| Country | To protect woman's life | Physical health | Mental health | Rape | Fetal defects | Socio-economic factors | On request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Varies | Varies | |
| Restricted | Restricted | Restricted | No | No | No | No | |
| Restricted | Restricted | Restricted | No | Restricted | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Varies | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Restricted | No | No | |
| 1st | Restricted | Restricted | No | No | No | No | |
| Restricted | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Restricted | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Abortion is legal in nearly every European country although there is a wide variation in the restrictions under which it is permitted.[16] Although nearly every European country makes abortion available on demand during the first trimester, when it comes to later-term abortions, there are very few with laws as liberal as those of the United States.[17] Restrictions on abortion are most stringent in countries that are more strongly observant of the Catholic faith.[16]
| Country | To protect woman's life | Physical health | Mental health | Rape | Fetal defects | Socio-economic factors | On request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | 1st | Yes | 1st | 1st [18] | |
| Yes | 1st | 1st | 1st | Yes | 1st | 1st | |
| 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st[18] | |
| 2nd | No | No | 2nd | 2nd | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | (de jure) No; (de facto) Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | 1st | Yes | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | (de jure) No; (de facto) Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No[19] | |
| (de jure) Yes; (de facto) No | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | Restricted | Restricted | Restricted | Restricted | Restricted | No | |
| (de jure) No; (de facto) Yes | (de jure) No; (de facto) Yes | No | (de jure) No; (de facto) 1st | (de jure) No; (de facto) restricted | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1st | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | (de jure) No (with exceptions); (de facto) 2nd | |
| No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Country | To protect woman's life | Physical health | Mental health | Rape | Fetal defects | Socio-economic factors | On request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Varies | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | 1st | Yes | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | 1st | 2nd | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Country | To protect woman's life | Physical health | Mental health | Rape | Fetal defects | Socio-economic factors | On request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| No | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | No | No | |
| 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| No | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| No | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | No | No | |
| Restricted | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Restricted | Restricted | Restricted | No | No | No | No | |
| Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies | |
| No | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | No | 1st | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Country | To protect woman's life | Physical health | Mental health | Rape | Fetal defects | Socio-economic factors | On request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Restricted | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Restricted | Restricted | Restricted | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | yes | Yes | No | No (de facto) | |
| Yes | ? | ? | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Restricted | Restricted | Restricted | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Restricted | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| No | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Country | To protect woman's life | Physical health | Mental health | Rape | Fetal defects | Socio-economic factors | On request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Restricted | No | Restricted | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes[24] | No | No | |
| Restricted | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Restricted | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| No | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Parts of this section (those related to PMID 18957353) are outdated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (June 2010) |
As of 1998, among the 152 most populous countries, 54 either banned abortion entirely or permitted it only to save the life of the pregnant woman.[25] In addition, another 44 of the 152 most populous countries generally banned late-term abortions after a particular gestational age: 12 weeks (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the former Yugoslavia), 13 weeks (Italy), 14 weeks (Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Germany, Hungary, and Romania), 18 weeks (Sweden), viability (Netherlands and to some extent the United States), and 24 weeks (Singapore and the United Kingdom [Northern Ireland excluded]).[25]
Chancery Law Chronicles- First Bangladesh Online Case Law Database [3]
European Court of Human Rights
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