Related Research Articles
Abortion laws vary widely among countries and territories, and have changed over time. Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request, to regulation or restrictions of various kinds, to outright prohibition in all circumstances. Many countries and territories that allow abortion have gestational limits for the procedure depending on the reason; with the majority being up to 12 weeks for abortion on request, up to 24 weeks for rape, incest, or socioeconomic reasons, and more for fetal impairment or risk to the woman's health or life. As of 2022, countries that legally allow abortion on request or for socioeconomic reasons comprise about 60% of the world's population.
Abortion in France is legal on demand during the first 14 weeks from conception. Abortions at later stages of pregnancy up until birth are allowed if two physicians certify that the abortion will be done to prevent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman; a risk to the life of the pregnant woman; or that the child will suffer from a particularly severe illness recognized as incurable. The abortion law was liberalized by the Veil Law in 1975.
Abortion in the Czech Republic is legally allowed up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, with medical indications up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, in case of grave problems with the fetus at any time. Those performed for medical indications are covered by public health insurance, but otherwise, abortion is relatively affordable in the Czech Republic. In Czech, induced abortion is referred to as interrupce or umělé přerušení těhotenství, often colloquially potrat ("miscarriage").
Timeline of women's legal rights (other than voting) represents formal changes and reforms regarding women's rights. The changes include actual law reforms as well as other formal changes, such as reforms through new interpretations of laws by precedents. The right to vote is exempted from the timeline: for that right, see Timeline of women's suffrage. The timeline excludes ideological changes and events within feminism and antifeminism; for that, see Timeline of feminism.
Abortion in Cyprus can since 2018 be performed on request up until the 12th week of pregnancy and until the 19th week in rape cases. It was previously performed only if there was a risk of physical or mental harm to the mother, a risk of fetal deformity, or if the patient was raped or otherwise sexually assaulted.
Abortion in Belarus has been legal since November 23, 1955, when Belarus was a republic of the Soviet Union. The current abortion legislation dates from December 31, 1987, and is one of the most liberal abortion laws in Europe. Abortion is allowed on request up to 12 weeks, and in specific circumstances, on a variety of grounds, until 28 weeks.
Abortion in Estonia has been legal since 23 November 1955, when Estonia was part of the Soviet Union. Estonia fine-tuned their legislation after the restoration of independence.
Abortion in Armenia is legal on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, and in special circumstances between 12 weeks and 22 weeks. Abortion has been legal since November 23, 1955, when Armenia was a republic of the Soviet Union. Pregnancies may be ended on request by the pregnant woman until the twelfth week and for medical and social reasons until the twenty-second week with a doctor's approval. Since 2016, when a law banning sex-selective abortion was passed, mandatory counseling is required before abortion along with a three-day waiting period. The law has been criticized as using sex-selective abortion as a pretext to restrict access to abortion, although the government denied this, and claimed that it did not intend to question women's right to access safe abortion.
Abortion in San Marino is legal in the first 12 weeks of gestation for any reason. It is also legal until fetal viability if the pregnancy poses a risk to the woman's life, if the fetus has an anomaly that poses a risk to the woman's health, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape of incest. In case of risk to the woman's life after fetal viability, the pregnancy may also be interrupted by attempting a live birth.
Abortion in Bulgaria has been legal on request within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy since 1 February 1990. Between 12 and 20 weeks, abortion is only permitted for women who suffer from certain diseases that may endanger her life or that of the child, and after 20 weeks abortion is only permitted if the woman's life is in danger or the fetus is severely genetically harmed.
Abortion in Latvia is legal and is available on request within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy; and for medical reasons until 22 weeks. While Latvia was a republic of the Soviet Union, abortions were regulated by the Government of the Soviet Union. The Government of Latvia has a "surveillance system" which allows it to collect information on the numbers of abortions performed.
Abortion in Moldova is legal on request within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and generally permitted until 28 weeks for a broad variety of reasons determined by the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health orders permit abortions until 22 weeks in the event of a threat to health, a pregnancy that results from a crime, a fetus with genetic defects or for social reasons, and abortions are permitted until 28 weeks if the fetus has severe malformations or congenital syphilis. Abortions must be carried out in authorized medical facilities by obstetricians and gynecologists.
Abortion in Bosnia and Herzegovina is legal on request during the first ten weeks of pregnancy. Between ten and twenty weeks, an abortion must be approved by a committee, and is permitted when the woman's life or health is threatened, when the fetus is severely impaired, when the pregnancy results from a crime, or for psychosocial reasons. In all cases, women must undergo counseling first. After 20 weeks, abortion is only permitted to save the woman's life or health. Only persons who perform illegal abortions are criminally punishable, never the women who undergo them.
Abortion is illegal in Bangladesh under most situations, but menstrual regulation is often used as a substitute. Bangladesh is still governed by the penal code from 1860, where induced abortion is illegal unless the woman is in danger.
Abortion in Vanuatu is severely restricted by criminal law. Abortion is illegal under the provisions of section 117 of the Vanuatu Penal Code, Act No. 17 or 7 August 1981. The code states that any woman who intentionally induces a miscarriage is subject to up to two years' imprisonment. Abortion is illegal in cases of rape, incest, and threats to fetal health. The only allocations for abortion are "for good medical reasons", which a United Nations report interprets as to save the life of the pregnant woman and to preserve her physical and mental health. Section 113 of the code states that "No person shall, when a woman is about to be delivered of the child, prevent the child from being born alive by any act or omission of such a nature that, if the child had been born alive and had, then died..." although the italicized statement is vague about its meaning.
Abortion in Samoa is only legal if the abortion will save the mother's life or preserve her physical or mental health and only when the gestation period is less than 20 weeks. In Samoa, if an abortion is performed on a woman for any other reason, or if a woman performs a self-induced abortion, the violator is subject to seven years in prison.
Abortion in Brunei is legal only when it is done to save a woman's life. In Brunei, a woman who induces her abortion is subject to up to seven years in prison. The penalty for someone who performs an abortion was 10–15 years.
Abortion in Cambodia is legal upon request within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.
Abortion in Cape Verde has been legal upon request prior to 12 weeks gestation since 1986. After 12 weeks, a woman in Cape Verde can obtain a legal abortion if the pregnancy poses a risk to her physical or mental health or if the fetus is impaired. Cape Verde is one of only five countries in Africa to permit elective abortions, alongside Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa and Tunisia.
Abortion in Egypt is prohibited by Articles 260–264 of the Penal Code of 1937. However, under Article 61 of the Penal Code, exceptions may be granted in cases of necessity, which has typically been interpreted to permit an abortion necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. In some cases, this exception has been extended to cases where the pregnancy poses dangers to the pregnant woman's health, and to cases of foetal impairment. A physician can only perform an abortion in such cases when two specialists approve, unless the woman's life is in imminent danger.
References
- 1 2 "Bahrain". Abortion Policies: A Global Review (DOC). United Nations Population Division. 2002. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- ↑ "World Abortion Policies 2013". United Nations. 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
 | This Bahrain-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This abortion-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |