Abortion in Canada is legal throughout pregnancy 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 restrictions exist, Canada is one of the few nations with no criminal restrictions on abortion. Abortion is subject to provincial healthcare regulatory rules and guidelines for physicians. No provinces offer abortion on request at 24 weeks and beyond, although there are exceptions for certain medical complications.
Abortion in France is legal upon request until 14 weeks after 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 Act in 1975.
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 Norway is available on demand within the first twelve weeks of gestation, measured as 11 weeks and 6 days from the first day of the last menstrual period. After this 12-week time limit, a request must be submitted to a special medical assessment board that will determine whether an abortion will be granted.
This is a timeline of reproductive rights legislation, a chronological list of laws and legal decisions affecting human reproductive rights. Reproductive rights are a sub-set of human rights pertaining to issues of reproduction and reproductive health. These rights may include some or all of the following: the right to legal or safe abortion, the right to birth control, the right to access quality reproductive healthcare, and the right to education and access in order to make reproductive choices free from coercion, discrimination, and violence. Reproductive rights may also include the right to receive education about contraception and sexually transmitted infections, and freedom from coerced sterilization, abortion, and contraception, and protection from practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM).
Abortion in Russia is legal as an elective procedure up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and in special circumstances at later stages.
Abortion in China is legal at all stages of pregnancy and generally accessible nationwide. Abortions are available to most women through China's family planning program, public hospitals, private hospitals, and clinics nationwide. China was one of the first developing countries to permit abortion when the pregnant woman's health was at risk and make it easily accessible under these circumstances in the 1950s. Following the Chinese Communist Revolution and the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the country has periodically switched between more restrictive abortion policies to more liberal abortion policies and reversals. Abortion regulations may vary depending on the rules of the province. In an effort to curb sex-selective abortion, Jiangxi and Guizhou restrict non-medically necessary abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy, while throughout most of China elective abortions are legal after 14 weeks. Although sex-selective abortions are illegal nationwide, they were previously commonplace, leading to a sex-ratio imbalance in China which still exists.
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 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 Slovenia was legalized for the first time in January 1952 and in its current form in July 1977.
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 Lithuania is legal and available on request until the twelfth week of pregnancy, and up to 22 weeks for medical reasons. While Lithuania was a Republic of the Soviet Union, abortions were regulated by the Government of the Soviet Union.
A medical abortion, also known as medication abortion or non-surgical 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 around the world.
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 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 Azerbaijan is legal on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, and in specific circumstances between 12 and 28 weeks. The current abortion law of Azerbaijan is based on the abortion law of the Soviet Union of 1955 when Azerbaijan was a Republic of the Soviet Union, and no changes were made after Azerbaijan became independent in 1991. Between 1965 and 1987 the abortion rate used to be very high. Since independence, the abortion rate has almost halved and relatively stabilized after 2000. In the 2014, 13.8% of pregnancies in Azerbaijan ended in abortion, a slight rise from the all-time low recorded in 2005 (12.1%).
Abortion in Thailand is legal and available on-request up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion has been legal up to at least 12 weeks of pregnancy since 7 February 2021. Following a 2020 ruling of the Constitutional Court which declared a portion of the abortion statutes unconstitutional, the Parliament removed first-term abortion from the criminal code. Once strict, over time laws have been relaxed 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.
Abortion in South Korea was decriminalized, effective 1 January 2021, by a 2019 order of the Constitutional Court of Korea. It is currently legal throughout pregnancy, as the new law does not specify any limits.
Communist and Marxist ideologies generally allow state-provided abortion, although there is no consensus among Communist parties and governments about how far into the pregnancy abortion should be allowed.
Socialist perspectives on abortion vary. In the first world, some socialist individuals believe in the legalisation and right to elective abortion care as a public service, whereas others do not believe abortion should be legal in any circumstances for a number of reasons. In Third World, there are discussions regarding traditionalists, Natalists, Malthusianists, and economics factors within society.
