Many [vague] countries only allow abortion during the first or second trimester, and some may allow abortion in cases of fetal malformations, such as Down syndrome, or if the pregnancy is the result of a sex crime. A list of countries classified according to their abortion laws can be obtained by downloading a PDF file of the map. While cost and accessibility for many Americans eliminate the ability to travel abroad for abortions, there is interest. Internet inquiries such as “Is abortion legal in Canada?” and “List of countries where abortion is illegal” surged this week. Abortion was permanently legalized in the United States by the Supreme Court`s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. However, each state has its own legal guidelines for abortion, some being much more restrictive than others. In fact, prior to Row v Wade, 30 states had completely banned abortion, and while all 50 states complied with the federal decision to decriminalize abortion, many passed laws restricting abortion as much as the law allows. There are a few exceptions that are often found in abortion laws. Legal spaces that do not have abortions on demand often allow them when the mother`s health is at stake.

“Maternal health” can mean something different in several areas: for example, before December 2018, the Republic of Ireland only allowed abortion to save the mother`s life, while abortion opponents in the United States argue that health exemptions are so broad that a ban becomes essentially meaningless. [542] These laws are generally interpreted generously to permit abortion in various circumstances. These countries often take into account a woman`s actual or reasonably foreseeable environment and her social or economic situation when considering the potential effects of pregnancy and childbirth. Some Central American countries, particularly El Salvador, are also known internationally for their very vigorous law enforcement, including the imprisonment of a victim of gang rape for murder when she gave birth to a stillborn son and was accused of attempting an illegal abortion. [533] [534] [535] The laws of countries in this category allow abortion if the woman`s life is in danger. 41 countries fall into this category. The laws of countries in this category allow abortion for health or therapeutic reasons. Here are the countries where abortion is legal and completely banned, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which defends reproductive rights around the world. While pregnancy limits may vary, here are the countries that allow abortion. Note that some countries require parental or spouse approval. Exceptions in abortion laws occur either in countries where abortion is generally illegal, or in countries where abortion is performed on demand with pregnancy restrictions. For example, if a country allows abortion on demand until week 12, it can create exemptions to this general pregnancy limit for subsequent abortions in certain circumstances.

[541] In some countries, liberal abortion laws protect access to abortion services. These laws are often intended to protect abortion clinics from obstruction, vandalism, picketing and other actions, or to protect patients and facility staff from threats and harassment. Other laws create a perimeter around a facility known as a “buffer zone,” “bladder zone,” or “access zone,” where anti-abortion protests are not allowed. Demonstrations and other performances are limited to a certain distance from the building, which varies according to the law. Similar zones have also been created to protect the homes of abortion providers and clinic staff. The laws of bubble zones are divided into “fixed” and “floating” categories. Fixed bubble zone laws apply to the static zone around the factory itself and floating laws apply to objects during transport, such as people or cars. [544] Because of conflicts between abortion opponents on the one hand and women seeking abortions and medical personnel offering abortions on the other, some laws are quite strict: in South Africa, for example, anyone who prevents legal abortion or obstructs access to an abortion center faces up to 10 years in prison (section 10.1(c) of the Termination of Pregnancy Choice). [545]). In the United Kingdom, the Abortion Act 1967 clarified and prescribed that abortion was legal for up to 28 weeks (later reduced to 24 weeks). Other countries soon followed, including Canada (1969), the United States (1973 in most states, according to Roe V. Wade – the U.S.

Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide), Tunisia and Denmark (1973), Austria (1974), France and Sweden (1975), New Zealand (1977), Italy (1978), the Netherlands (1984) and Belgium (1990). However, these countries differ considerably in the circumstances under which abortion should be permitted. In 1975, the Federal Court of Justice struck down a law legalizing abortion because it contradicted constitutional human rights guarantees. In 1976, a law was passed allowing abortions up to 12 weeks. After the reunification of Germany, despite the legal status of abortion in the former GDR, a compromise was reached that considered most abortions legal until week 12, but this law was repealed by the Federal Constitutional Court and amended to allow the repeal of the sentence only in such cases without a declaration of legality. In Shari`a jurisdictions, abortion after the 120th day after conception (19 weeks after the LMP) is illegal, especially for those who follow the recommendations of the Hanafi Law School, while most Maliki Law School jurists “believe that the soul takes place at the time of conception, and they tend to ban abortion at any time [similar to the Roman Catholic Church]. The other schools have intermediate positions. […] The penalty for illegal abortion varies depending on the circumstances.

According to Sharia law, it should be limited to a fine paid to the father or heirs of the fetus. [13] Finally, there are countless additional guidelines to abortion laws in many countries, such as: requiring parental consent or marriage (or a police report in cases of rape), restricting access to methods of determining the sex of the fetus, or requiring the pregnant woman to first see an ultrasound or listen to the fetal heartbeat. “PEOPLE WILL TRAVEL”: What Roe v. Wade could mean for cross-border abortions In the first half of the 20th century, many countries had begun to liberalize abortion laws, at least when they were enforced to protect women`s lives and, in some cases, at the woman`s request. Under Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet Union was the first modern state to legalize abortion on demand – the law was first introduced in 1920 in the Russian SFSR, in July 1921 in the Ukrainian SSR, and then throughout the country. [5] [6] The Bolsheviks regarded abortion as a social evil created by the capitalist system, which left women without the economic means to raise their children and forced them to perform abortions. The Soviet state initially maintained the Tsarist ban on abortion, which treated the practice as premeditated murder. However, abortion has been performed by Russian women for decades and its incidence has continued to rise due to the Russian Civil War, which has devastated the country economically and made it extremely difficult for many people to have children. The Soviet state realized that a ban on abortion would not stop the practice because women would continue to use the services of private opponents of abortion.

In rural areas, these were often elderly women with no medical training, making their services very dangerous for women`s health. In November 1920, the Soviet regime legalized abortion in public hospitals. The state saw abortion as a temporary necessary evil that would disappear in the future communist society, which would be able to take care of all conceived children. [7] [page needed] In 1936, Joseph Stalin imposed abortion bans that limited them to medically recommended cases only in order to increase population growth after the enormous loss of life in World War I and the Russian Civil War. [8] [9] [6] In the 1930s, several countries (Poland, Turkey, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Mexico) legalized abortion in certain special cases (pregnancy following rape, endangerment of maternal health, fetal malformation). In Japan, abortion was legalized in 1948 by the Eugenics Protection Law,[10] which was amended in May 1949 to allow abortion for economic reasons. [11] Abortion was legalized in Yugoslavia in 1952 (to some extent) and in 1955 in the Soviet Union upon request. Some Soviet allies (Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania) legalized abortion in the late 1950s under pressure from the Soviets. [How?] [12] Although the legal status of abortion varies considerably from region to region, almost all countries allow abortion, at least under certain circumstances; In the world, only six countries completely ban abortion. Most industrialized countries allow the procedure without restriction.

About 125 countries have restrictions that generally allow abortion only in limited situations, including for socioeconomic reasons, risks to the woman`s physical or mental health, or the presence of fetal abnormalities. Roe flipped. The United States becomes one of only four countries to lift legal abortion protection in 25+ years. 970 million women, or 59% of women of childbearing age, live in countries that widely allow abortion. While the majority of women live in countries where they can exercise their right to abortion, 41% of women live under restrictive laws. The lack of access to safe and legal abortion care affects 700 million women of childbearing age.