Abortion in Slovakia is legal on request until 12 weeks of pregnancy, and for medical reasons at later stages. [1] Abortion was fully legalized on 23 October 1986. [2] Abortions were provided with restrictions in Slovakia and what is now the Czech Republic as early as 19 December 1957, [2] but it was the 1986 law which removed the requirement of medical approval for abortions before the twelfth week of pregnancy. [2] 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. [2]
To procure an abortion on demand, a woman must have not exceeded the twelfth week of her pregnancy, and she must make her request for an abortion known in writing to her gynaecologist, and counseling and birth control information is given to the woman, and she is referred to a hospital to terminate her pregnancy. [2] After twelve weeks, a group of physicians must approve the abortion, which in practice only occurs if there is a chance of irreparable harm for either the fetus or the mother. [2]
In October 2020, a bill that would have tightened abortion law was defeated by the Parliament of Slovakia, with 59 votes against and 58 votes in favor. [3] [4]
The abortion rate peaked in the late 1980s after the liberalization of the old abortion law, with nearly 40 abortions per 100 births. [5] In 2004, the figure fell below 15 abortions per 100 births, its lowest rate since the government started tracking abortion figures in 1958. [5]
As of 2010 [update] , the abortion rate was 13.9 abortions per 1000 women aged 15-44 years. [6]
Abortion will be legal and free of charge upon request in Finland in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy starting from 1 September 2023. Between 1970 and 2023 abortion was widely accessible in practice for a variety of reasons but nevertheless the law required the pregnant woman to state her motivations and get approval from one or two doctors.
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 Australia is legal. It has been fully decriminalised in all jurisdictions, starting with Western Australia in 1998 and lastly in South Australia in 2022. Access to abortion varies between the states and territories: surgical abortions are readily available on request within the first 16 to 24 weeks of pregnancy, although with no limit on gestational term in the Australian Capital Territory. Later term abortions generally require the approval of two doctors, though are heavily restricted in Western Australia after 20 weeks.
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.
Many jurisdictions have laws applying to minors and abortion. These parental involvement laws require that one or more parents consent or be informed before their minor daughter may legally have an abortion.
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.
The legality of, and public opinion toward, abortion in Norway has changed dramatically in the last 100 years. Current Norwegian legislation and public health policy provides for abortion on request in the first 12 weeks of gestation, by application up to the 18th week, and thereafter only under special circumstances until the fetus is viable, which is usually presumed at 21 weeks and 6 days.
Abortion in Paraguay is illegal except in case of the threat to the life of the woman. Anyone who performs an abortion can be sentenced to 15 to 30 months in prison. If the abortion is done without the consent of the woman, the punishment is increased to 2 to 5 years. If the death of the woman occurred as a result of the abortion, the person who did the procedure can be sentenced to 4 to 6 years in prison, and 5 to 10 years in cases in which she did not consent.
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 is legally accepted in Hungary starting in 1953, with the most recent change to abortion laws being Act LXXIX of 1992 on the protection of fetal life. Under the current laws, abortions may be performed up to 12 weeks but may be extended up to 24 weeks in certain circumstances.
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.
The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1996 is the law governing abortion in South Africa. It allows abortion on demand up to the twelfth week of pregnancy, under broadly specified circumstances from the thirteenth to the twentieth week, and only for serious medical reasons after the twentieth week. The Act has been described by the Guttmacher Institute as "one of the most liberal abortion laws in the world".
A forced abortion may occur when the perpetrator causes abortion by force, threat or coercion, or by taking advantage of a situation where a pregnant individual is unable to give consent, or when valid consent is in question due to duress. This may also include the instances when the conduct was neither justified by medical or hospital treatment. Like forced sterilization, forced abortion may include a physical invasion of female reproductive organs.
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.
Abortionin Croatia has been a regulated medical operation since 1952, subject to various restrictions. According to present law, abortion can be performed as an elective procedure until 10 weeks following conception, and in specific circumstances afterwards.
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.
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 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.
Abortion in Singapore is legal and widely accessible. It was formally legalised in 1974, being one of the first countries in Asia to do so. It is available on request for Singaporean citizens, permanent residents, individuals with an issued student or work pass, individuals who have been a resident of Singapore for a minimum of four months as well as anyone married to a Singaporean citizen or a permanent resident. Foreigners may also obtain an abortion in Singapore if their lives are endangered.