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International status of abortion law Legal on request Legal for rape, maternal life, health, mental
health, socioeconomic factors, and/or fetal defects Legal for or illegal with exception for rape,
maternal life, health, fetal defects, and/or mental health Illegal with exception for rape, maternal life,
health, and/or mental health Illegal with exception for maternal life, health, and/or mental health
Illegal with no exceptions Varies by region No information
Abortion law is legislation which pertains to the provision of abortion. Abortion has been a
controversial subject in several societies around the world because of the moral and ethical issues
that surround it, though other considerations, such as a state's pro- or antinatalist policies or
questions of inheritance and patriarchy, also dictate abortion law and regulation. It has been
regularly banned and otherwise limited. However, abortions continue to be commonplace 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.[1] The same study also reveals that the number of abortions
worldwide is declining due to increased access to contraception. Almost 2/3rds 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, Malta and Vatican City, which ban the procedure
entirely,[2] to those in Canada, the United States, and many more which place no restrictions on
the provision of abortion.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
• 2 International law
• 3 National laws
○ 3.1 Africa
○ 3.2 Asia
3.2.1 East
3.2.2 Central and South
3.2.3 West
○ 3.3 Europe
3.3.1 Western
3.3.2 Eastern
○ 3.4 North America
○ 3.5 Oceania
○ 3.6 South America
• 4 Legal restrictions on later abortion
• 5 Case law
• 6 See also
• 7 Notes
• 8 References
• 9 External links
[edit] History
Main article: History of abortion law
Abortion and contraception have been widely available throughout Western history, despite
ethical concerns. Plato and Aristotle both argued in favor of compulsory abortion under certain
circumstances, though Hippocrates expressly disapproved of the practice. Under Roman law,
abortion sometimes occurred but family planning was conducted mainly through the exposure of
healthy newborns—usually to protect the rights and interests of the biological father. References
to abortion were included in the writings of Ovid, Seneca, Juvenal and Pliny, who included a list
of abortifacients (drugs that induce an abortion) in one text. Early Christian philosophers,
including Ivo of Chartres and Gratian, disapproved of abortion when it broke the link between
copulation and procreation but argued that abortion of what Ivo termed an "unformed embryo"
did not constitute homicide; at the same time they condemned direct abortion as a serious sin.
Religious authorities have taken various positions on abortion throughout history (see Religion
and abortion). In 1588, Pope Sixtus V adopted a papal bull adopting the position of St. Thomas
Aquinas that contraception and abortion were crimes against nature and sins against marriage.
This verdict was relaxed three years later by Pope Gregory XIV, who pronounced that abortion
before "hominization" should not be subject to ecclesiastical penalties that were any stricter than
civil penalties (Codicis iuris fontes, ed. P. Gasparri, vol. 1 (Rome, 1927), pp. 330–331).
However, the Catholic Church has remained consistently opposed to abortion during its entire
2,000-year[citation needed] history. In Pope Gregory XIV's time, common law positions on abortion in
individual countries varied significantly from country to country.[citation needed]
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 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. The adoption of contraceptives 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. However just as it was
difficult to convict abortion providers it was also difficult for many countries to get the public
support necessary for the elected government to legalize it, so countries like Canada and the
United States legalized it by the will of the Supreme Court instead. 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), 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. After Germany's reunification, despite the
legal status of abortion in the former East Germany, a compromise was reached which deemed
most abortions illegal, but prosecutions not performed.
[edit] International law
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.
[edit] National laws
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 spousal or parental notification.
Legend
• Yes – Legal
• No – Illegal
• 1st – Legal during 1st trimester only (exact date – e.g. number of weeks – may vary)
• 2nd – Legal during 1st and 2nd trimester only (exact date may vary)
• Restricted – Legal but subject to significant restrictions
• Varies – Varies by region
• ? – Information is unavailable or the law is too ambiguous
[edit] Africa
To
Socio-
protect Physical Mental Rape Fetal On
woman's defects economic
Country
health health request
factors
life
Angola 1st No No No No No No
Djibouti Yes ? ? No No No No
Egypt Restricted No No No No No No
Yes No No No No No No
Gabon
Lesotho Yes No No No No No No
Libya Yes No No No No No No
Madagascar Yes No No No No No No
Malawi Restricted No No No No No No
Mauritania Yes No No No No No No
Mauritius Yes No No No No No No
No No No No No No No
Niger
Nigeria Yes Yes Yes No No No No
Senegal Yes No No No No No No
Somalia Yes No No No No No No
South Africa (details) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Swaziland Yes No No No No No No
Togo 1st ? ? ? ? No No
Western Sahara ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
[edit] Asia
[edit] East
To
protect Physical Mental Fetal Socio- On
health defects economic
Country woman's Rape
health request
factors
life
Brunei Yes No No No No No No
Indonesia Yes No No No No No No
People's Dem. Rep. of Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
(North) Korea
No (but
illegal
abortions,
Republic of (South) Korea Yes Yes Yes Yes No No in this
[6]
regard,
are not
punished)
Laos No No No No No No No
Myanmar Yes No No No No No No
Afghanistan Yes No No No No No No
Bhutan[7] Yes No No No No No No
Iraq Yes No No No No No No
Oman Yes No No No No No No
Syria Restricted No No No No No No
Yemen Yes No No No No No No
[edit] Europe
[edit] Western
To Physical Mental Fetal Socio- On
Country protect Rape economic request
woman's
health health defects factors
life
Andorra Yes No No No No No No
Yes No No No No No No
San Marino
Bosnia and Herzegovina Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Czech Republic (details) 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st
Dominica Yes No No No No No No
Dominican Republic No No No No No No No
(details)
El Salvador (details) No No No No No No No
Haiti Yes ? No ? ? No No
Honduras Restricted No No No No No No
Nicaragua (details) No No No No No No No
Saint Vincent and the Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago Yes Yes Yes No No No No
United States (details) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
[edit] Oceania
To
Socio-
protect Physical Mental Rape Fetal On
defects economic request
Country woman's
health health
factors
life
Australia (details) Varies Varies Varies Varies Varies Varies Varies
Kiribati Yes No No No No No No
Palau Yes No No No No No No
Tonga Yes No No No No No No
Tuvalu No No No No No No No
Chile (details) No No No No No No No
Paraguay Yes No No No No No No
Suriname Yes No No No No No No
Uruguay(details) No No No No No No No
Venezuela Yes No No No No No No
[edit] References
• law sidebars.htm Abortion Laws of the World. (n.d.). Annual Review of Population Law.
Retrieved July 14, 2006.
• Appel, Jacob M. 'Conscience' vs. Care: How Refusal Clauses are Reshaping the Rights
Revolution, Medicine and Health, Rhode Island, August 2005. Retrieved October 28,
2008.
• Rahman, Anika, Katzive, Laura, & Henshaw, Stanley K. (1998). A Global Review of
Laws on Induced Abortion, 1985–1997. International Family Planning Perspectives, 24
(2). Retrieved July 14, 2006.
• United Nations Population Division. (2002). Abortion Policies: A Global Review.
Retrieved July 14, 2006.
• IPPF European Network. (2004). Abortion Legislation in Europe. Retrieved October 27,
2006.
• Center for Reproductive Rights. (2005). law sidebars10.pdf Abortion and the Law: Ten
Years of Reform. Retrieved November 22, 2006.
• The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. (November 2006). Abortion Laws Around
The World. Retrieved April 18, 2007.
• Europe's Abortion Laws. (February 12, 2007). BBC News. Retrieved February 12, 2007.
• United Nations Population Division. (2007). World Abortion Policies 2007. Retrieved
October 3, 2007.
[edit] External links
• Center for Reproductive Rights
• Pregnant Pause: Summary of Abortion Laws Around the World
• Laws on Abortion in the First and Second Trimesters, The International Consortium for
Medical Abortion (ICMA)
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