Globally, access to abortion has increased during the past 25 years. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, a group that fights for women’s access to an abortion, about 50 countries have increased the conditions under which a woman can request the surgery.
The organisation divides the severity of abortion legislation into five groups, from complete prohibition to abortion-on-request. There are nations in between that permit abortions when the woman’s life or health is in danger. Other nations assess the effects of pregnancy and childbirth in addition to health, taking into account broad social and economic aspects. Inability to care for a child due to employment, housing, or financial pressures is one of these issues.
A gestational restriction, a necessity for parental or spouse consent, and a period after which treatments are no longer allowed may be in place in nations that authorise abortion.
Since 1994, 18 nations that had previously outlawed abortion have relaxed their rules.
Seven additional nations also loosened their regulations to permit abortions where the woman’s life was in danger. These include Ireland, where one of the harshest abortion laws in Europe was reversed by a referendum in 2018.
Twelve nations, including Spain, South Africa, and Argentina, who had restricted abortion to situations in which the woman’s health was in danger, altered their regulations to either permit abortions for social and economic reasons or upon request.
Other nations have made gradual changes to their abortion regulations, such as establishing exceptions for rape, incest, or foetal disability.
Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, the United States had rather lenient abortion rules that permitted the practice up until the foetus’ viability. States are free to control access following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June that the constitutional right to an abortion is no longer valid. With 16 states restricting abortion largely to situations in which a woman’s life or health is at stake, many are now anticipated to enact restrictions.
After Roe v. Wade, some states are attempting to strengthen abortion access while others are attempting to tighten their restrictions. Measures on the November ballots in Vermont and California would include the right to abortion in their respective constitutions. A similar amendment is being sought by New York, however voters may not be asked to approve it until 2024.
The United States is now one of a select few nations where abortion restrictions are being tightened as a result of the Supreme Court ruling. Poland, for instance, ruled the treatment unlawful in 2020 when performed due to prenatal defects.
El Salvador amended its law in 1998 to end all exceptions to the ban on abortion. Abortion used to be legal in situations where the mother’s life was in danger, such as rape and foetal abnormality. In 2006, Nicaragua ended all exceptions to its prohibition on abortion.
Comparing international abortion laws
Of the 195 nations for which data are available, 12 percent officially forbid abortion. Only around 21 percent of the time, and only when the woman’s life is in danger. The remaining 24% restrict it to situations where the woman’s health is at danger, which, depending on the rules, may encompass both mental and physical health.
For extensive social and economic reasons, abortion is legal in an extra 6% of countries. Approximately 37% of places allow abortions on demand, frequently with gestational restrictions.
The exceptions provided in less permissive categories are accepted by nations in more lenient categories. Therefore, nations that allow abortions for medical purposes also allow them when the mother’s life is in danger.
Additionally, nations that permit abortions based on socioeconomic factors also permit them when there is a risk to health or life.
Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East are home to several nations with stricter abortion regulations. Those with less onerous restrictions are often concentrated in Europe and Asia.
Location-specific abortion laws
Data sourced from: Centre for Reproductive rights
Click on the map for details
With Roe v. Wade overturned, restrictions in the U.S. are likely to vary widely. Indiana has become the first US state to pass the abortion ban law.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, the states of Ohio, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee now forbid abortions at six weeks of pregnancy, and it’s possible that Iowa may do the same. Tennessee is anticipated to ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy by eliminating its gestational period soon. The most typical cutoff point in other countries with gestational limitations is 12 weeks into pregnancy. Guyana, Turkey, Portugal, and Croatia are among countries having bans of fewer than 12 weeks.
Even if it is legal, access to abortion is restricted in some areas. For instance, all clinics in Arizona are shut down while the state’s abortion laws are clarified.
(With Inputs from the Wall Street Journal)
