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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 all 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. The most common reasons women give for having an abortion are for birth-timing and limiting family size. Other reasons reported include maternal health, an inability to afford a child, domestic violence, lack of support, feeling they are too young, wishing to complete education or advance a career, and not being able or willing to raise a child conceived as a result of rape or incest.
Intact dilation and extraction is a surgical procedure that terminates and removes an intact fetus from the uterus. The procedure is used both after miscarriages and for abortions in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. When used to perform an abortion, an intact D&E can occur after feticide or on a live fetus.
Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the predicted sex of the infant. The selective abortion of female fetuses is most common where male children are valued over female children, especially in parts of East Asia and South Asia, as well as in the Caucasus, Western Balkans, and to a lesser extent North America. Based on the third National Family and Health Survey, results showed that if both partners, mother and father, or just the father, preferred male children, sex-selective abortion was more common. In cases where only the mother prefers sons, this is likely to result in sex-selective neglect in which the child is not likely to survive past infancy.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, increasing access to birth control, and leading campaigns against child marriage, gender-based violence, obstetric fistula, and female genital mutilation.
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected a right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many abortion laws, and it sparked an ongoing abortion debate in the United States about whether, or to what extent, abortion should be legal, who should decide the legality of abortion, and what the role of moral and religious views in the political sphere should be. The decision also shaped debate concerning which methods the Supreme Court should use in constitutional adjudication.
In the United States, abortion is a divisive issue in politics and culture wars, though a majority of Americans support access to abortion. Abortion laws vary widely from state to state.
The Mexico City policy, sometimes referred to by its critics as the global gag rule, is a former United States government policy that blocked U.S. federal funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provided abortion counseling or referrals, advocated to decriminalize abortion, or expanded abortion services. When in effect, the Mexico City policy is a U.S. government policy that requires foreign non-governmental organizations to certify that they will not "perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning" with non-U.S. funds as a condition for receiving U.S. global family planning assistance, and during its January 23, 2017 implementation any other U.S. global health assistance, including U.S. global HIV and maternal and child health (MCH) assistance.
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. In 2024, France became the first country to explicitly protect abortion rights in its constitution, while Yugoslavia implicitly inscribed abortion rights in its constitution in 1974.
Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows:
Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.
The United Nations coordinated an International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt, on 5–13 September 1994. Its resulting Programme of Action is the steering document for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Abortion in Uruguay is legal on request before twelve weeks of gestation, after a five-day reflection period. Abortion has been legalized in Uruguay since 2012. Uruguay is one of only four countries in South America where abortion is legal on request; the other three are Argentina, Guyana and Colombia.
Abortion in Monaco is illegal except in cases of rape, fetal deformity, illness, or fatal danger to the mother. The most recent abortion legislation was enacted on 8 April 2009; before then Monaco had one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe, only allowing the procedure if there was deemed to be a very high risk of fatality for the woman.
Abortion in Slovakia is legal on request until 12 weeks of pregnancy, and for medical reasons at later stages. Abortion was fully legalized on 23 October 1986. Abortions were provided with restrictions in Slovakia and what is now the Czech Republic as early as 19 December 1957, but it was the 1986 law which removed the requirement of medical approval for abortions before the twelfth week of pregnancy. Girls under 16 require parental consent for an abortion, while girls aged 16 and 17 can have the procedure performed without consent but the parents still have to be notified.
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 23 November 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 Latvia is legal and is available on request within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and available 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.
In Benin, abortion is legal on broad socioeconomic grounds up to twelve weeks of pregnancy.
In Yemen, abortions are only “permitted to save the life of a pregnant woman”, making it one of the strictest abortion laws in the Middle East and the world. Abortion is not widely accepted in Yemeni society. However, because of the recent conflict in Yemen, rape, honor killings, and unsafe abortions have increased in Yemen. According to a study conducted by Canadian Studies in Population, the number of unsafe and illegal abortions are high in Yemen, which can lead to fatal health risks for women.
The status of women in Zambia has improved in recent years. Among other things, the maternal mortality rate has dropped and the National Assembly of Zambia has enacted multiple policies aimed at decreasing violence against women. However, progress is still needed. Most women have limited access to reproductive healthcare, and the total number of women infected with HIV in the country continues to rise. Moreover, violence against women in Zambia remains common. Child marriage rates in Zambia are some of the highest in the world, and women continue to experience high levels of physical and sexual violence.
My body, my choice is a slogan describing freedom of choice on issues affecting the body and health, such as bodily autonomy, abortion and end-of-life care. The slogan emerged around 1969 with feminists defending an individual's right of self determination over their bodies for sexual, marriage and reproductive choices as rights. The slogan has been used around the world and translated into many different languages. The use of the slogan has caused different types of controversy in different countries and is often used as a rallying cry during protests and demonstrations and/or to bring attention to different feminist issues.
Abortion in Europe varies considerably between countries and territories due to differing national laws and policies on its legality, availability of the procedure, and alternative forms of support for pregnant women and their families.
References
- ↑ UNFPA (December 2006). "Pregnancy and Family Planning in Kosovo: A Qualitative Study" (PDF). UNFPA.
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