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Abortion is legal throughout the United States and its territories, although restrictions and accessibility vary from state to state. Abortion is a controversial and divisive issue in the society, culture and politics of the U.S., and various anti-abortion laws have been in force in each state since at least 1900. The Democratic Party has generally defended access to abortion, whereas the Republican Party has generally sought to restrict abortion access or criminalize abortion.
Abortion in Canada is legal at all stages of pregnancy and funded in part by the Canada Health Act. While some non-legal barriers to access continue to exist, such as lacking equal access to providers, Canada is the only nation with absolutely no specific legal restrictions on abortion. Medical regulations and accessibility vary between provinces.
Abortion laws vary considerably between countries and have changed over time. Laws may permit, prohibit, restrict, or otherwise regulate the availability of abortion. A few countries ban abortions entirely.
Abortion in Germany is permitted in the first trimester under the condition of mandatory counseling, and is permitted later in pregnancy in cases of medical necessity. In both cases, a waiting period of three days is required. The counseling, called Schwangerschaftskonfliktberatung, must take place at a state-approved centre, which afterwards gives the applicant a Beratungsschein. Abortions that do not meet these conditions are illegal.
Abortion in Chile is legal in the following cases: when the mother's life is at risk, when the fetus will not survive the pregnancy, and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in the case of rape. Between 1989 and 2017 Chile had one of the most restrictive abortion policies in the world, criminalizing its practice without exception.
Pregnancy options counseling is a form of counseling that provides information and support regarding pregnancy. Women seeking pregnancy options counseling are typically doing so in the case of an unplanned or unintended pregnancy. Limited access to birth control and family planning resources, as well as misuse of birth control are some of the major contributing factors to unintended pregnancies around the world. In 2012, the global rate of unintended pregnancies was estimated to be 40 percent, or eighty-five million pregnancies.
Abortion in the Philippines is mostly illegal.
Abortion in Israel is permitted when determined by a termination committee, with the vast majority of cases being approved as of 2019. The rate of abortion in Israel has steadily declined since 1988, and compared to the rest of the world, abortion rates in Israel are moderate. According to government data, in Israel, abortion rates in 2016 dropped steadily to 9 per 1,000 women of childbearing age, lower than England (16.2) and the United States (13.2). 99% of abortions are carried out in the first trimester. Despite allegations of permitting abortion under limited circumstances, Haaretz noted in 2019 that this is not the case and abortion is almost always permitted in Israel.
Abortion in El Salvador is illegal. The law formerly permitted an abortion to be performed under some limited circumstances, but, in 1998, all exceptions were removed when a new abortion law went into effect.
Abortion in Mexico is a controversial issue. Its legal status varies by state. The procedure is available on request to any woman up to twelve weeks into a pregnancy in Mexico City and the state of Oaxaca, but is severely restricted in the other states. As of April 2015, 138,792 abortions have been carried out in the capital city since its decriminalization (2007). The abortion laws and their enforcement vary by region, but in conservative parts of the country, women are routinely prosecuted and convicted for having abortions: More than 679 women have been convicted for abortion in conservative-leaning states, such as Guanajuato.
Abortion in Russia is legal as an elective procedure up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and in special circumstances at later stages. In 1920, the Russian Soviet Republic became the first country in the world in the modern era to allow abortion in all circumstances, but over the course of the 20th century, the legality of abortion changed more than once, with a ban being enacted again from 1936 to 1955. Russia had the highest number of abortions per woman of child-bearing age in the world according to UN data as of 2010. In terms of the total number, in 2009 China reported that it had over 13 million abortions, out of a population of 1.3 billion, compared to the 1.2 million abortions in Russia, out of a population of 143 million people.
Prior to 2006, abortion in Colombia was illegal without exceptions. Therapeutic abortion to save a mother's life was permitted between 1837 and 1936. As of 2020, abortion isn't a crime when it occurs under these three exceptions: (a) the continuation of the pregnancy constitutes a danger to the life or health of the mother; (b) The existence of life-threatening fetal malformations; and (c) The pregnancy is the result of rape, non-consensual artificial insemination or incest.
Abortion in Zimbabwe is available under limited circumstances. Zimbabwe's current abortion law, the Termination of Pregnancy Act, was enacted by Rhodesia's white minority government in 1977. The law permits abortion if the pregnancy endangers the life of the woman or threatens to permanently impair her physical health, if the child may be born with serious physical or mental defects, or if the fetus was conceived as a result of rape or incest. Nevertheless, an estimated 70,000+ illegal abortions are performed in Zimbabwe each year, resulting in around 20,000 maternal deaths.
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 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, and 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 in Kazakhstan is legal as an elective procedure up to 12 weeks, and special circumstances afterwards. The relevant legislation is based on the laws inherited from the country's Soviet past, when abortion was legally permitted as a contraceptive.
Abortion in Afghanistan is affected by the religious constraints from the national religion, Islam, and by the extremely high birthrates. Afghanistan has one of the highest fertility rates, but its levels are decreasing since the fall of the Taliban, as aid workers can now enter the country to help with fertility and decrease mortality rates. Afghan law is influenced by Islamic law, which comes from the Qur’an. These laws state that abortion is only legal if it is performed to save the life of the mother or if the child is going to be born with a severe disability. This interpretation of Islamic law is based in Islamic medicine, as Muslims cherish the sanctity of human life and believe God does not cause harm or illnesses that are incurable. Due to these constraints, women choose either to pursue an abortion illegally or be shunned by society due to a pregnancy outside of the socially accepted norms. Contraception is approved by Islam when it prevents the formation of the zygote and prevents implantation in the uterus.
Abortion in Thailand is discouraged by law, but is not banned outright if specific criteria are met. Once strict laws have, over time, eased to take into account high rates of teen pregnancy, women who lack the means or will to raise children, and the consequences of illegal abortion. "Chapter 3: Offence Of Abortion" of the Thai Criminal Code addresses the crime of abortion and levies a penalties of up to three years imprisonment and up to 6,000 baht in fines for a woman found guilty of undergoing an illegal abortion. Exceptions are made in the case of rape or other extenuating circumstances. A court decision in early 2020, however, declared a portion of the abortion statutes unconstitutional and ordered that they be rewritten by 13 February 2021, a move that increased public debate on the topic.
Abortion in South Korea is illegal in most circumstances, but illegal abortions are widespread and commonly performed at hospitals and clinics. The South Korean Constitutional Court on April 11, 2019 ruled the abortion ban unconstitutional and ordered the law's revision by the end of 2020.
The Termination of Pregnancy Act is a law in Zimbabwe governing abortion. Enacted in 1977 by the Parliament of Rhodesia and effective starting 1 January 1978, it was retained after Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. The law expanded abortion access, permitting it under three circumstances: if the pregnancy endangers the life of the woman or threatens to permanently impair her physical health, if the child may be born with serious physical or mental defects, or if the fetus was conceived as a result of rape or incest.
References
- ↑ Johnston, William Robert (24 February 2017). "Historical Abortion Statistics, Belize". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- 1 2 Health in the Americas (1998 ed.). World Health Organization. p. 82. ISBN 9275115699 . Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ↑ "Illegal abortions: rising threat to Belizean women". News 5. Great Belize Television. 6 June 2003. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ↑ "Government of Belize Must Address Lack of Legal Rights for Informal Relationships, Women's Anti-Discrimination Committee Told" (Press release). United Nations. 14 June 1999. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 "Abortion Policy: Belize". The Population Policy Data Bank. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
