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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.
Late termination of pregnancy describes the termination of pregnancy by induced abortion during a late stage of gestation. "Late", in this context, is not precisely defined, and different medical publications use varying gestational age thresholds. In 2015 in the United States, about 1.3% of abortions took place after the 21st week, and less than 1% occur after 24 weeks.
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 Sweden was first legislated by the Abortion Act of 1938. This stated that an abortion could be legally performed in Sweden upon medical, humanitarian, or eugenical grounds. That is, if the pregnancy constituted a serious threat to the woman's life, if she had been impregnated by rape, or if there was a considerable chance that any serious condition might be inherited by her child, she could request an abortion. The law was later augmented in 1946 to include socio-medical grounds and again in 1963 to include the risk of serious fetal damage. A committee investigated whether these conditions were met in each individual case and, as a result of this prolonged process, abortion was often not granted until the middle of the second trimester. As such, a new law was created in 1974, stating that the choice of an abortion is entirely up to the woman until the end of the eighteenth week.
Abortion in the Philippines is mostly illegal.
Abortion in Nicaragua is completely illegal. Prior to a change in the law, which took effect on 18 November 2006, the law allowed pregnancies to be terminated for "therapeutic" reasons, but this clause is no longer in effect.
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 South Africa is legal on request in the first trimester of pregnancy, and in special circumstances afterwords. Abortion was legal only under very limited circumstances until 1 February 1997, when the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act came into force, providing abortion on demand for a variety of cases.
Abortion in Andorra is banned except in cases where it is necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman.
Abortion in Panama is illegal except in instances that the pregnancy is life-threatening or the health of the woman is at risk, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
Abortion in Costa Rica is severely restricted by criminal law. Currently, abortions are allowed in Costa Rica only in order to preserve the life or physical health of the woman. Abortions are illegal in almost all cases, including when the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest and when the fetus suffers from medical problems or birth defects. Both social and economic factors have led to this legal status. It remains unclear whether abortions are legal to preserve the mental health of the woman, though the 2013 United Nations abortion report says Costa Rica does allow abortions concerning mental health of a woman.
Abortion in Uganda is illegal unless performed by a licensed medical doctor in a situation where the woman's life is deemed to be at risk.
Abortion in Papua New Guinea is only legal if the abortion will save the mother's life. In Papua New Guinea, if an abortion is performed on a woman for any other reason, the violator is subject to fourteen years in prison. A woman who performs a self-induced abortion may be imprisoned for seven years.
Abortion in the Solomon Islands is only legal if the abortion will save the mother's life. In the Solomon Islands, if an abortion is performed on a woman for any other reason, the violator is subject to a life sentence in prison. A woman who performs a self-induced abortion may also be imprisoned for life.
Abortion in Kiribati is only legal if the abortion will save the mother's life. In Kiribati, if an abortion is performed on a woman for any other reason, the violator is subject to ten years in prison. If a woman performs a self-induced abortion, she may be imprisoned for life.
Abortion in Angola is only legal if the abortion will save the woman's life. In Angola, any abortion performed under different conditions subjects the woman and the person who performs the procedure to up to three years in prison. If the woman dies as a result of the abortion, the criminal charges are increased by one-third.
Abortion in Qatar is illegal in some circumstances. Under Qatar's penal code, a woman who induces her abortion or who consents to an abortion faces up to five years' imprisonment. Individuals who perform an unauthorized abortion on a woman may face up to five years' imprisonment if she consents, and up to ten years if it is performed without her consent.
Abortion in Guatemala is illegal, except when needed to save the woman's life. Abortion was illegal without exception prior to 1973. Congressional Decree 17-73 altered the penal code to allow abortion in cases in which the pregnant woman's life is endangered in September 1973. The procedure must be done by a physician and approved by a second doctor.
References
- 1 2 3 Abortion Policies: Oman to Zimbabwe. United Nations Publications. 2001. ISBN 9789211513653 . Retrieved 23 November 2014.
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