Related Research Articles
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnancies. When deliberate steps are taken to end a pregnancy, it is called an induced abortion, or less frequently "induced miscarriage". The unmodified word abortion generally refers to an induced abortion.
Abortion in the United States and its territories is a divisive issue in American politics and culture wars, with widely different abortion laws in U.S. states. Since 1976, the Republican Party has generally sought to restrict abortion access based on the stage of pregnancy or criminalize abortion, whereas the Democratic Party has generally defended access to abortion and has made contraception easier to obtain. The abortion-rights movement advocates for patient choice and bodily autonomy, while the anti-abortion movement maintains the fetus has a right to live. Historically framed as a debate between the pro-choice and pro-life labels, most Americans agree with some positions of each side. Support for abortion gradually increased in the U.S. beginning in the early 1970s, and stabilized during the 2010s.
Abortion in Canada is legal at all stages of pregnancy, no matter the reason, and is publicly funded as a medical procedure under the combined effects of the federal Canada Health Act and provincial health-care systems. However, access to services and resources varies by region. While some non-legal barriers to access continue to exist, Canada is the only nation with absolutely no criminal restrictions on abortion. Abortion availability is, however, subject to provincial health-care regulatory guidelines for physicians. The general rule is that few providers offer abortion care beyond 23 weeks and 6 days, but there can be exceptions in certain cases.
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 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").
Abortion in Iran, as can be expected of many government policies, changed drastically between governments.
Abortion in Switzerland is legal during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, upon condition of counseling, for women who state that they are in distress. It is also legal with medical indications – threat of severe physical or psychological damage to the woman – at any later time. Switzerland is among the developed nations with the lowest rates of abortions and unwanted pregnancies.
Abortion in Romania is currently legal as an elective procedure during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, and for medical reasons at later stages of pregnancy. In the year 2004, there were 216,261 live births and 191,000 reported abortions, meaning that 46% of the 407,261 reported pregnancies that year ended in abortion.
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 under Lenin 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 on unconditional abortions being enacted again from 1936 to 1955, which from then on it was legalised again. Due to this, the country gained a termed 'abortion culture'. Russian abortions peaked in the middle of the 1960s, with a total of 5,463,300 abortions being performed in 1965.
Abortion in Iceland is legal on request until the end of the 22nd week of pregnancy. The abortion rate in Iceland is relatively high, in comparison to other Nordic countries.
Abortion in China is legal and generally accessible. Regulations vary depending on the rules of the province, in Jiangxi non-medically necessary abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy are not allowed while throughout most of China elective abortions are legal. In 2021, China's State Council as well as the non-governmental organization responsible for family planning announced policy guidelines with the goal of reducing non-medically necessary abortions by increasing women's access to pre-pregnancy healthcare services. Sex-selective abortions are illegal nationwide as it leads to an imbalanced sex-ratio.
Abortion in Spain is legal upon request up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, and at later stages for serious risk to the health of the woman or fetal defects.
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 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 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.
A medical abortion, also known as medication abortion, occurs when drugs (medication) are used to bring about an abortion. Medical abortions are an alternative to surgical abortions such as vacuum aspiration or dilation and curettage. Medical abortions are more common than surgical abortions in most places, including Europe, India, China, and the United States.
Abortion in Montenegro is legal on request during the first ten weeks of pregnancy. Between 10 and 20 weeks, abortions must be approved a committee, and may only be performed for medical reasons, if the child is expected to be born with serious disabilities, if the pregnancy is the result of a crime, or if the woman could face serious family circumstances during pregnancy or after birth. Between 20 and 32 weeks, abortions must be approved by an ethics committee, and are only granted for medical reasons or in the case of serious fetal defects; after 32 weeks, abortions can only be permitted to save the pregnant woman's life. The current abortion law, which dates from 2009, repealed the previous 1977 law enacted by Yugoslavia.
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 South Korea was decriminalized, effective 2021, by a 2019 order of the Constitutional Court of Korea.
Abortion in Arkansas is illegal except when it is necessary to save the life of the mother. Doctors determined to have performed an abortion face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $100,000.
References
- ↑ "Europe's abortion rules". BBC News. 12 February 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ↑ "BULGARIA. Decree No. 2 of 1 February 1990 on the conditions and procedures for the artificial termination of pregnancy". 1 February 1990. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- 1 2 Abortion Policies: A Global Review (archived version). Vol. 1. United Nations Population Division. 2002. Archived from the original (DOC) on 2018-08-23. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ↑ "Historical abortion statistics, Bulgaria". Abortion statistics and other data--Johnston`s Archive. 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ↑ "World Abortion Policies 2007". United Nations. 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ↑ "World Abortion Policies 2013". United Nations. 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ↑ Stoyanova, V. (1999). "Reproductive health. Induced abortions in Bulgaria. Trends during the period 1986-1996". The European Journal of Public Health. 9 (3): 223–228. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/9.3.223 .
- ↑ "Gynuity Health Projects » List of Mifepristone Approval". Archived from the original on 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
 | This abortion-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This Bulgaria-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |