Legal on request: | |
No gestational limit | |
Gestational limit after the first 17 weeks | |
Gestational limit in the first 17 weeks | |
Unclear gestational limit | |
Legally restricted to cases of: | |
Risk to woman's life, to her health*, rape*, fetal impairment*, or socioeconomic factors | |
Risk to woman's life, to her health*, rape, or fetal impairment | |
Risk to woman's life, to her health*, or fetal impairment | |
Risk to woman's life*, to her health*, or rape | |
Risk to woman's life or to her health | |
Risk to woman's life | |
Illegal with no exceptions | |
No information | |
* Does not apply to some countries or territories in that category |
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. [1]
Abortion continues to be a controversial subject in many societies on religious, moral, ethical, practical, and political grounds. Though it has been banned and otherwise limited by law in many jurisdictions, abortions continue to be common in many areas, even where they are illegal. According to a 2007 study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization, abortion rates are similar in countries where the procedure is legal and in countries where it is not, [2] [3] due to unavailability of modern contraceptives in areas where abortion is illegal. [4] Also according to the study, the number of abortions worldwide is declining due to increased access to contraception. [2] [3]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(July 2017) |
Abortion has existed since ancient times, with natural abortifacients being found amongst a wide variety of tribal people and in most written sources. The earliest known records of abortion techniques and general reproductive regulation date as far back as 2700 BC in China, and 1550 BC in Egypt. [5] Early texts contain little mention of abortion or abortion law. When it does appear, it is entailed in concerns about male property rights, preservation of social order, and the duty to produce fit citizens for the state or community. The harshest penalties were generally reserved for a woman who procured an abortion against her husband's wishes, and for slaves who produced abortion in a woman of high status. Religious texts often contained severe condemnations of abortion, recommending penance but seldom enforcing secular punishment. As a matter of common law in England and the United States, abortion was illegal anytime after quickening—when the movements of the fetus could first be felt by the woman. Under the born alive rule, the fetus was not considered a "reasonable being" in rerum natura; and abortion was not treated as murder in English law.
In the 19th century, many Western countries began to codify abortion laws or place further restrictions on the practice. Anti-abortion movements were led by a combination of groups opposed to abortion on moral grounds, and by medical professionals who were concerned about the danger presented by the procedure and the regular involvement of non-medical personnel in performing abortions. Nevertheless, it became clear that illegal abortions continued to take place in large numbers even where abortions were rigorously restricted. It was difficult to obtain sufficient evidence to prosecute the women and abortion doctors, and judges and juries were often reluctant to convict. For example, Henry Morgentaler, a Canadian pro-choice advocate, was never convicted by a jury. He was acquitted by a jury in the 1973 court case, but the acquittal was overturned by five judges on the Quebec Court of Appeal in 1974. He went to prison, appealed, and was again acquitted. In total, he served 10 months, suffering a heart attack while in solitary confinement. Many were also outraged at the invasion of privacy and the medical problems resulting from abortions taking place illegally in medically dangerous circumstances. Political movements soon coalesced around the legalization of abortion and liberalization of existing laws.
By the first half of the 20th century, many countries had begun to liberalize abortion laws, at least when performed to protect the woman's life and in some cases on the woman's request. Under Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet Union became the first modern state in legalizing abortions on request—the law was first introduced in the Russian SFSR in 1920, in the Ukrainian SSR in July 1921, and then in the whole country. [6] [7] The Bolsheviks saw abortion as a social evil created by the capitalist system, which left women without the economic means to raise children, forcing them to perform abortions. The Soviet state initially preserved the tsarist ban on abortion, which treated the practice as premeditated murder. However, abortion had been practiced by Russian women for decades and its incidence skyrocketed further as a result of the Russian Civil War, which had left the country economically devastated and made it extremely difficult for many people to have children. The Soviet state recognized that banning abortion would not stop the practice because women would continue using the services of private abortionists. In rural areas, these were often old women who had no medical training, which made their services very dangerous to women's health. In November 1920, the Soviet government legalized abortion in state hospitals. The state considered abortion as a temporary necessary evil, which would disappear in the future communist society, which would be able to provide for all the children conceived. [8] [ page needed ] In 1936, Joseph Stalin placed prohibitions on abortions, which restricted them to medically recommended cases only, in order to increase population growth after the enormous loss of life in World War I and the Russian Civil War. [9] [10] [7] In the 1930s, several countries (Poland, Turkey, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Mexico) legalized abortion in some special cases (pregnancy from rape, threat to mother's health, fetal malformation). In Japan, abortion was legalized in 1948 by the Eugenic Protection Law, [11] amended in May 1949 to allow abortions for economic reasons. [12] Abortion was legalized in 1952 in Yugoslavia (on a limited basis[ which? ]), and again in 1955 in the Soviet Union on request. Some Soviet allies (Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania) legalized abortion in the late 1950s under pressure from the Soviets.[ how? ] [13] [ additional citation(s) needed ]
In the United Kingdom, the Abortion Act of 1967 clarified and prescribed abortions as legal up to 28 weeks (later reduced to 24 weeks). Other countries soon followed, including Canada (1969), the United States (1973 in most states, pursuant to Roe v. Wade —the U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion nationwide), Tunisia and Denmark (1973), Austria (1974), France and Sweden (1975), New Zealand (1977), Italy (1978), the Netherlands (1984), and Belgium (1990). However, these countries vary greatly in the circumstances under which abortion was to be permitted. In 1975, the West German Supreme Court struck down a law legalizing abortion, holding that they contradict the constitution's human rights guarantees. In 1976, a law was adopted which enabled abortions up to 12 weeks. After Germany's reunification, despite the legal status of abortion in former East Germany, a compromise was reached which deemed most abortions up to 12 weeks legal, but this law was struck down by the Federal Constitutional Court and amended to only remove the punishment in such cases, without any statement to legality. In jurisdictions governed under sharia law, abortion after the 120th day from conception (19 weeks from LMP) is illegal, especially for those who follow the recommendations of the Hanafi legal school, while most jurists of the Maliki legal school "believe that ensoulment occurs at the moment of conception, and they tend to forbid abortion at any point [similar to the Roman Catholic Church]. The other schools hold intermediate positions. ... The penalty prescribed for an illegal abortion varies according to particular circumstances involved. According to sharia, it should be limited to a fine that is paid to the father or heirs of the fetus." [14]
The table below lists in chronological order the United Nations member states that have legalized abortion on request in at least some initial part of the pregnancy, or that have fully decriminalized abortion. As of 2024, 67 countries have legalized or decriminalized abortion on request.
Where a country has legalized abortion on request, prohibited it, and legalized it again (e.g., former Soviet Union, Romania), only the later year is included. Countries that result from the merger of states where abortion on request was legal at the moment of unification show the year when it became legal across the whole national territory (e.g., Germany, Vietnam). Similarly, countries where not all subnational jurisdictions have legalized abortion on request are not included, leading to the exclusion of Australia, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Countries where abortion on request was once legalized nationwide but has since been prohibited in at least part of the country, such as the United States and Poland, are also excluded. Countries are counted even if they were not yet independent at the time. The year refers to when the relevant law or judicial decision came into force, which may be different from the year when it was approved.
There are no international or multinational treaties that deal directly with abortion but human rights law and international criminal law touch on the issues.
The Nuremberg Military Tribunal decided the case of United States v Greifelt and Others (1948) on the basis that abortion was a crime within its jurisdiction according to the law defining crimes against humanity and thus within its definition of murder and extermination. [36]
The Catholic Church remains highly influential in Latin America, and opposes the legalisation of abortion. [37] The American Convention on Human Rights, which in 2013 had 23 Latin American parties, declares human life as commencing with conception. In Latin America, abortion on request is only legal in Cuba (1965), Uruguay (2012), [38] Argentina (2021), [35] Colombia (2022) [39] and in parts of Mexico. [40] [41] Abortions are completely banned in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, and only allowed in certain restricted circumstances in most other Latin American nations. [37]
In the 2010 case of A, B and C v Ireland , the European Court of Human Rights found that the European Convention on Human Rights did not include a right to an abortion.
In 2005, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UN HRC) ordered Peru to compensate a woman (known as K.L.) for denying her a medically indicated abortion; this was the first time a United Nations Committee had held any country accountable for not ensuring access to safe, legal abortion, and the first time the committee affirmed that abortion is a human right. [42] K.L. received the compensation in 2016. [42] In the 2016 case of Mellet v Ireland , the UN HRC found Ireland's abortion laws violated International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights because Irish law banned abortion in cases of fatal fetal abnormalities.
While abortions are legal at least under certain conditions in almost all countries, these conditions vary widely. According to a United Nations (UN) report with data gathered up to 2019, [43] abortion is allowed in 98% of countries in order to save a woman's life. Other commonly-accepted reasons are preserving physical (72%) or mental health (69%), in cases of rape or incest (61%), and in cases of fetal impairment (61%). Performing an abortion because of economic or social reasons is accepted in 37% of countries. Performing abortion only on the basis of a woman's request is allowed in 34% of countries, including in Canada, most European countries and China. [43]
The exact scope of each legal ground also varies. For example, the laws of some countries cite health risks and fetal impairment as general grounds for abortion and allow a broad interpretation of such terms in practice, while other countries restrict them to a specific list of medical conditions or subcategories. Many countries 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 social, economic, rape, or incest reasons, and more for fetal impairment or threats to the woman's health or life. [43] : 26
In some countries, additional procedures must be followed before the abortion can be carried out even if the basic grounds for it are met. How strictly all of the procedures dictated in the legislation are followed in practice is another matter. For example, in the United Kingdom, a Care Quality Commission's report in 2012 found that several NHS clinics were circumventing the law, using forms pre-signed by one doctor, thus allowing abortions to patients who only met with one doctor. [44]
permitted | In many cases, abortion is permitted only up to a certain gestational age. If this limit is known and does not vary by subdivision, it is shown instead of "permitted". |
permitted, with complex legality or practice | |
varies by subdivision | |
prohibited, with complex legality or practice | |
prohibited | |
unknown or unclear |
The table below summarizes the legal grounds for abortion in all United Nations member states and United Nations General Assembly observer states and some countries with limited recognition. This table is mostly based on data compiled by the United Nations up to 2019, [45] with some updates, additions and clarifications citing other sources.
Country | Risk to life | Risk to health | Rape | Fetal impairment | Economic or social | On request |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abkhazia [46] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Afghanistan | permitted [lower-alpha 15] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited [lower-alpha 15] | prohibited [lower-alpha 15] | prohibited |
Albania [31] | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | no limit | 22 weeks | 12 weeks |
Algeria [53] | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Andorra | prohibited [lower-alpha 16] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Angola [lower-alpha 17] | permitted | permitted | 16 weeks | permitted | prohibited | prohibited |
Antigua and Barbuda [58] | permitted [lower-alpha 18] | prohibited [lower-alpha 19] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Argentina [35] [61] | permitted | permitted | permitted | 14 weeks | permitted | 14 weeks |
Armenia [62] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 22 weeks | 12 weeks |
Australia [subdivisions] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | varies [lower-alpha 20] |
Australian Capital Territory [65] [66] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit |
Christmas Island [lower-alpha 21] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 23 weeks |
Cocos Islands [lower-alpha 22] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 23 weeks |
Jervis Bay Territory [lower-alpha 23] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit |
New South Wales [70] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks |
Norfolk Island [lower-alpha 24] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit |
Northern Territory [74] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | prohibited [lower-alpha 25] |
Queensland [75] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks |
South Australia [76] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks and 6 days |
Tasmania [77] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 16 weeks |
Victoria [78] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 24 weeks |
Western Australia [79] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 23 weeks |
Austria [80] | no limit | no limit | 3 months [lower-alpha 26] | no limit | 3 months [lower-alpha 26] | 3 months [lower-alpha 26] |
Azerbaijan [81] | no limit | no limit | permitted | permitted | 22 weeks | 12 weeks |
Bahamas [82] | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 27] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Bahrain | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 28] | prohibited [lower-alpha 28] | prohibited [lower-alpha 28] | prohibited [lower-alpha 28] | prohibited [lower-alpha 28] |
Bangladesh | no limit | prohibited [lower-alpha 29] | prohibited [lower-alpha 29] | prohibited [lower-alpha 29] | prohibited [lower-alpha 29] | prohibited [lower-alpha 29] |
Barbados [85] | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks | no limit | 12 weeks | prohibited |
Belarus [lower-alpha 30] | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks | no limit | 22 weeks | 12 weeks |
Belgium [89] | no limit | no limit | 14 weeks [lower-alpha 31] | no limit | 14 weeks [lower-alpha 31] | 14 weeks [lower-alpha 31] |
Belize | no limit | no limit | prohibited | no limit | permitted | prohibited |
Benin [91] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks | prohibited |
Bhutan [lower-alpha 32] | 180 days | 180 days [lower-alpha 33] | 180 days | 180 days [lower-alpha 33] | prohibited | prohibited |
Bolivia | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 34] | prohibited | prohibited |
Bosnia and Herzegovina [subdivisions] | no limit | no limit | permitted | permitted | permitted | 10 weeks |
Brčko District [lower-alpha 35] | no limit | no limit | 20 weeks | 20 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina [lower-alpha 35] | no limit | no limit | 20 weeks | 20 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
Republika Srpska [97] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 10 weeks |
Botswana [98] | 16 weeks | 16 weeks | 16 weeks | 16 weeks | prohibited | prohibited |
Brazil [99] [100] | no limit | prohibited | no limit | prohibited [lower-alpha 36] | prohibited | prohibited |
Brunei [103] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Bulgaria [104] | no limit | 20 weeks | permitted | no limit | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Burkina Faso [105] | no limit | no limit | 14 weeks | no limit | prohibited | prohibited |
Burundi | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited [lower-alpha 37] | prohibited |
Cambodia [107] | no limit | 12 weeks | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Cameroon [108] | permitted | 28 weeks | 28 weeks | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Canada [lower-alpha 38] [subdivisions] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted |
Alberta | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 20 weeks |
British Columbia | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 23 weeks and 6 days |
Manitoba | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 19 weeks and 6 days |
New Brunswick | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 16 weeks |
Newfoundland and Labrador | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 15 weeks |
Northwest Territories | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 19 weeks and 6 days |
Nova Scotia | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 16 weeks |
Nunavut | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks |
Ontario | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 23 weeks and 6 days |
Prince Edward Island | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks and 6 days |
Quebec | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 23 weeks and 6 days |
Saskatchewan | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 18 weeks and 6 days |
Yukon | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks and 6 days |
Cape Verde [111] | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Central African Republic | 8 weeks | prohibited [lower-alpha 39] | 8 weeks | 8 weeks | prohibited | prohibited |
Chad | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited |
Chile [113] | no limit | prohibited | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 40] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited |
China [subdivisions] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | varies [lower-alpha 41] | varies [lower-alpha 42] |
Mainland China [114] [115] [lower-alpha 2] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted |
Hong Kong [116] | no limit | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | prohibited |
Macau [117] | no limit | no limit | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | prohibited | prohibited |
Colombia | no limit [lower-alpha 43] | no limit [lower-alpha 43] | no limit [lower-alpha 43] | no limit [lower-alpha 43] | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 43] | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 43] |
Comoros [120] | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Congo | permitted [lower-alpha 44] | prohibited [lower-alpha 44] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Costa Rica | permitted | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 45] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Croatia [124] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
Cuba [125] [126] | no limit | 22 weeks | no limit | 35 weeks | 22 weeks | 12 weeks |
Cyprus [127] | permitted | permitted | 19 weeks | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Czech Republic [128] [129] | no limit | permitted [lower-alpha 46] | 12 weeks | no limit | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | permitted [lower-alpha 47] | permitted [lower-alpha 48] | permitted [lower-alpha 48] | permitted [lower-alpha 48] | prohibited | prohibited |
Denmark [133] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 49] |
Djibouti [134] [135] [136] | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 27] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Dominica [137] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 50] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Dominican Republic [139] | prohibited [lower-alpha 51] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
East Timor [lower-alpha 52] | no limit | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Ecuador | permitted | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 53] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Egypt [147] [148] | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
El Salvador [149] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Equatorial Guinea [150] | 12 weeks | 12 weeks | 12 weeks | 12 weeks | prohibited | prohibited |
Eritrea [151] | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 54] | prohibited [lower-alpha 54] | prohibited [lower-alpha 54] |
Estonia [152] | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 55] | 22 weeks | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 55] | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 55] |
Eswatini [153] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited |
Ethiopia [154] [155] [156] | 28 weeks | 28 weeks | 28 weeks | 28 weeks | prohibited [lower-alpha 56] | prohibited |
Fiji [157] | no limit | no limit | 20 weeks | no limit | prohibited | prohibited |
Finland [lower-alpha 14] [159] | no limit | no limit | 20 weeks | 24 weeks | 20 weeks | 12 weeks |
France [160] [lower-alpha 57] | no limit | no limit | 16 weeks [lower-alpha 58] | no limit | 16 weeks [lower-alpha 58] | 16 weeks [lower-alpha 58] |
Gabon [163] | 10 weeks | prohibited [lower-alpha 59] | 10 weeks | 10 weeks | prohibited | prohibited |
Gambia [164] [165] [166] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | permitted | prohibited | prohibited |
Georgia [167] [168] | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Germany | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 60] | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 60] | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 60] |
Ghana | 28 weeks | 28 weeks | 28 weeks | 28 weeks | prohibited | prohibited |
Greece [171] | no limit | no limit | 19 weeks | 24 weeks | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 61] | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 61] |
Grenada [172] | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Guatemala [173] [174] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Guinea | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited |
Guinea-Bissau [29] [175] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted |
Guyana [176] | no limit | no limit | 16 weeks | 16 weeks | 8 weeks [lower-alpha 62] | 8 weeks [lower-alpha 62] |
Haiti [lower-alpha 63] | permitted [lower-alpha 64] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Honduras [179] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Hungary | no limit | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 65] | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 65] | 20 weeks [lower-alpha 66] | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 65] | prohibited |
Iceland [181] | no limit | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | no limit | 22 weeks | 22 weeks |
India [182] [183] | no limit | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 67] | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 68] | prohibited |
Indonesia [184] [185] | no limit | no limit | 14 weeks | no limit | prohibited | prohibited |
Iran [186] [187] [188] | 4 months | 4 months | prohibited [lower-alpha 69] | 4 months | prohibited | prohibited |
Iraq | permitted [lower-alpha 70] | prohibited [lower-alpha 71] | prohibited | prohibited [lower-alpha 71] | prohibited | prohibited |
Ireland [194] | viability [lower-alpha 72] | viability [lower-alpha 72] | 12 weeks | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Israel | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 73] | prohibited [lower-alpha 73] |
Italy [196] | no limit | viability | 90 days | 90 days | 90 days | 90 days |
Ivory Coast | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 74] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 74] | prohibited | prohibited |
Jamaica | permitted [lower-alpha 75] | permitted [lower-alpha 76] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Japan [203] | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | prohibited | 22 weeks | prohibited |
Jordan [204] | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Kazakhstan [205] [206] | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks | no limit | 22 weeks | 12 weeks |
Kenya [207] [208] | permitted | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 77] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Kiribati [211] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Kosovo [212] | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks | no limit | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
Kuwait [213] | permitted | 4 months | prohibited | 4 months | prohibited | prohibited |
Kyrgyzstan [214] [215] | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 12 weeks |
Laos | permitted [lower-alpha 78] | 28 weeks [lower-alpha 78] | 28 weeks [lower-alpha 78] | 28 weeks [lower-alpha 78] | 28 weeks [lower-alpha 78] | prohibited [lower-alpha 78] |
Latvia [219] [220] | permitted | 24 weeks | 12 weeks | 12 weeks | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Lebanon [221] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Lesotho [222] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited |
Liberia [223] | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | prohibited | prohibited |
Libya [224] [225] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Liechtenstein [226] | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Lithuania [227] | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 79] | no limit | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 79] | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 79] |
Luxembourg [228] | no limit | no limit | 14 weeks | no limit | 14 weeks | 14 weeks |
Madagascar | prohibited [lower-alpha 80] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Malawi [232] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Malaysia [233] | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Maldives [lower-alpha 81] | no limit | prohibited | 120 days | 120 days [lower-alpha 82] | prohibited | prohibited |
Mali [238] [239] | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 27] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Malta [240] | viability | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Marshall Islands | permitted [lower-alpha 64] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Mauritania | permitted [lower-alpha 83] | prohibited [lower-alpha 83] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Mauritius [245] | no limit | no limit | 14 weeks | no limit | prohibited | prohibited |
Mexico [246] [subdivisions] | varies [lower-alpha 84] | varies [lower-alpha 85] | permitted [lower-alpha 86] | varies [lower-alpha 85] | varies [lower-alpha 85] | varies [lower-alpha 85] |
Aguascalientes [251] | 6 weeks | 6 weeks | permitted | permitted | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
Baja California [252] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Baja California Sur [253] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Campeche [254] | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 86] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Chiapas [255] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | 90 days [lower-alpha 86] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Chihuahua [256] | permitted | permitted | 90 days [lower-alpha 86] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Coahuila [257] | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 87] | 90 days [lower-alpha 86] | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 87] | permitted [lower-alpha 87] |
Colima [258] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Durango [259] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Guanajuato [260] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Guerrero [261] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Hidalgo [262] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Jalisco [263] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 88] | permitted [lower-alpha 88] | permitted [lower-alpha 88] |
Mexico City [266] [267] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Mexico State [268] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | permitted | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Michoacán [269] | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 86] | permitted | 12 weeks | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Morelos [270] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | permitted | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Nayarit [271] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 89] | permitted [lower-alpha 89] | permitted [lower-alpha 89] |
Nuevo León [273] | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Oaxaca [274] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Puebla [275] | permitted | 12 weeks | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Querétaro [276] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Quintana Roo [277] [278] | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 86] | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
San Luis Potosí [279] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Sinaloa [280] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 13 weeks | 13 weeks |
Sonora [281] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Tabasco [282] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Tamaulipas [283] | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Tlaxcala [284] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] | prohibited [lower-alpha 85] |
Veracruz [285] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Yucatán [286] | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 90] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 90] |
Zacatecas [288] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 91] | permitted [lower-alpha 91] | permitted [lower-alpha 91] |
Micronesia | permitted [lower-alpha 64] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Moldova [290] | 21 weeks | 21 weeks | 21 weeks | 21 weeks | 21 weeks | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 92] |
Monaco | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks | no limit | prohibited | prohibited |
Mongolia | 23 weeks | 23 weeks | permitted | permitted | 14 weeks | 14 weeks |
Montenegro [291] | 32 weeks | 32 weeks | 20 weeks | 20 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
Morocco [lower-alpha 93] | no limit | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Mozambique | no limit | no limit | 16 weeks | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 94] | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Myanmar [297] [298] | no limit | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Namibia | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited |
Nauru [299] | no limit | no limit | 20 weeks | 20 weeks | prohibited | prohibited |
Nepal [300] [301] | 28 weeks | 28 weeks | 18 weeks | 28 weeks | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 95] | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 95] |
Netherlands [lower-alpha 96] | no limit | no limit | 24 weeks | no limit | 24 weeks | 24 weeks |
New Zealand [302] | no limit | no limit | permitted | permitted | permitted | 20 weeks |
Nicaragua | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Niger | permitted | permitted | prohibited | permitted | prohibited | prohibited |
Nigeria [subdivisions] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Abia | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Adamawa | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Akwa Ibom | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Anambra | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Bauchi | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Bayelsa | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Benue | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Borno | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Cross River | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Delta | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Ebonyi | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Edo | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Ekiti | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Enugu | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Federal Capital Territory | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Gombe | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Imo | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Jigawa | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Kaduna | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Kano | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Katsina | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Kebbi | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Kogi | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Kwara | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Lagos | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Nasarawa | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Niger | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Ogun | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Ondo | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Osun | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Oyo | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Plateau | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Rivers | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 97] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Sokoto | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Taraba | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Yobe | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Zamfara | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Northern Cyprus [305] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 10 weeks |
North Korea | permitted [lower-alpha 98] | permitted [lower-alpha 98] | unclear [lower-alpha 98] | permitted [lower-alpha 98] | unclear [lower-alpha 98] | unclear [lower-alpha 98] |
North Macedonia | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 99] | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 99] | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 99] | 12 weeks |
Norway [lower-alpha 6] | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 12 weeks |
Oman | permitted [lower-alpha 100] | permitted [lower-alpha 100] | prohibited | 120 days [lower-alpha 100] | prohibited | prohibited |
Pakistan [316] [317] | no limit | organ formation [lower-alpha 101] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Palau | permitted [lower-alpha 102] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Palestine | permitted [lower-alpha 103] | prohibited [lower-alpha 103] | prohibited [lower-alpha 103] | prohibited [lower-alpha 103] | prohibited | prohibited |
Panama [326] [327] | no limit | prohibited | 2 months | 24 weeks | prohibited | prohibited |
Papua New Guinea [328] | permitted | prohibited [lower-alpha 104] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Paraguay [332] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Peru [333] | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Philippines [334] | prohibited [lower-alpha 105] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Poland [337] | no limit | no limit | 13 weeks | prohibited [lower-alpha 106] | prohibited [lower-alpha 107] | prohibited |
Portugal [340] | no limit | no limit | 16 weeks | 24 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
Qatar [341] [342] | no limit | 4 months | prohibited | 4 months | prohibited | prohibited |
Romania [343] | no limit | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 14 weeks |
Russia [344] [345] [346] | permitted | permitted | 22 weeks | no limit | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Rwanda [347] | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks | no limit | prohibited | prohibited |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 108] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Saint Lucia [350] | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines [351] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited |
Samoa [352] | 20 weeks | 20 weeks | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
San Marino [353] | viability [lower-alpha 109] | viability | viability | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 110] | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
São Tomé and Príncipe [32] | no limit | no limit | no limit | 16 weeks | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Saudi Arabia [354] | no limit | 4 months | 40 days [lower-alpha 111] | 40 days [lower-alpha 111] | prohibited | prohibited |
Senegal | permitted [lower-alpha 112] | prohibited [lower-alpha 112] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Serbia [361] [362] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
Seychelles | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 113] | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 113] | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 113] | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 113] | prohibited | prohibited |
Sierra Leone | permitted [lower-alpha 114] | permitted [lower-alpha 114] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Singapore [372] | no limit | no limit | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks |
Slovakia [373] [374] | no limit | permitted [lower-alpha 115] | 12 weeks | no limit | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Slovenia [375] | no limit | no limit | 10 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
Solomon Islands [376] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Somalia [377] [378] [lower-alpha 116] | permitted [lower-alpha 117] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
South Africa | no limit | 20 weeks | 20 weeks | no limit | 20 weeks | 12 weeks |
South Korea [lower-alpha 118] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 119] | permitted [lower-alpha 119] |
South Ossetia [384] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 22 weeks | 12 weeks |
South Sudan [385] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Spain [386] | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 14 weeks | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 120] | 14 weeks | 14 weeks |
Sri Lanka [387] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Sudan [388] | no limit | prohibited | 90 days [lower-alpha 121] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Suriname | permitted [lower-alpha 122] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Sweden [390] | no limit | no limit | 18 weeks | 18 weeks | 18 weeks | 18 weeks |
Switzerland [391] | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks | 12 weeks | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Syria [392] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Taiwan [393] [394] | no limit | no limit | 24 weeks | no limit | 24 weeks | prohibited |
Tajikistan [395] | permitted | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 12 weeks |
Tanzania [lower-alpha 123] | no limit | permitted [lower-alpha 124] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Thailand [399] [400] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 20 weeks | 20 weeks |
Togo [401] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited |
Tonga | permitted [lower-alpha 125] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Transnistria [404] [405] | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks | no limit | 22 weeks | 12 weeks |
Trinidad and Tobago | permitted [lower-alpha 126] | permitted [lower-alpha 126] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Tunisia [21] | no limit | no limit | 3 months | no limit | 3 months | 3 months |
Turkey [409] [410] [411] | no limit | 10 weeks | 20 weeks | no limit | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
Turkmenistan [412] | no limit | no limit | permitted | permitted | 22 weeks | 5 weeks |
Tuvalu [413] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Uganda | 28 weeks | 28 weeks | 28 weeks | 28 weeks | prohibited | prohibited |
Ukraine [414] | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 127] | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 127] |
United Arab Emirates [417] [418] | no limit | 120 days [lower-alpha 128] | 120 days | no limit | prohibited [lower-alpha 128] | prohibited [lower-alpha 128] |
United Kingdom [subdivisions] | no limit | no limit | permitted [lower-alpha 129] | no limit | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 129] | varies [lower-alpha 130] |
England [425] | no limit | no limit | permitted [lower-alpha 129] | no limit | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 129] | prohibited |
Northern Ireland [424] | no limit | no limit | permitted [lower-alpha 129] | no limit | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 129] | 12 weeks |
Scotland [425] | no limit | no limit | permitted [lower-alpha 129] | no limit | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 129] | prohibited |
Wales [425] | no limit | no limit | permitted [lower-alpha 129] | no limit | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 129] | prohibited |
United States [426] [subdivisions] | no limit | varies [lower-alpha 131] | varies [lower-alpha 131] | varies [lower-alpha 131] | varies [lower-alpha 131] | varies [lower-alpha 131] |
Alabama [427] | no limit | no limit | prohibited | prohibited [lower-alpha 132] | prohibited | prohibited |
Alaska | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit |
Arizona [429] [430] | no limit | no limit | 15 weeks | 15 weeks | 15 weeks | 15 weeks |
Arkansas [431] [432] | no limit | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
California [lower-alpha 133] | no limit | no limit | viability | viability | viability | viability |
Colorado | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit |
Connecticut | no limit | no limit | viability | viability | viability | viability |
Delaware | no limit | no limit | viability | no limit | viability | viability |
District of Columbia | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit |
Florida [433] [434] | no limit | no limit | 15 weeks | 15 weeks [lower-alpha 134] | 15 weeks | 15 weeks |
Georgia [435] [436] [437] | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 135] | no limit | heartbeat [lower-alpha 136] | heartbeat [lower-alpha 136] |
Hawaii | no limit | no limit | viability | viability | viability | viability |
Idaho [438] | no limit | no limit [lower-alpha 137] | 15 weeks [lower-alpha 138] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Illinois | no limit | no limit | viability | viability | viability | viability |
Indiana [441] [442] | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 139] | prohibited [lower-alpha 140] | prohibited | prohibited |
Iowa [443] [444] [445] | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 135] | heartbeat [lower-alpha 136] [lower-alpha 141] | heartbeat [lower-alpha 136] | heartbeat [lower-alpha 136] |
Kansas | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks |
Kentucky [446] [447] | no limit | no limit | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Louisiana [448] | no limit | no limit | prohibited | prohibited [lower-alpha 142] | prohibited | prohibited |
Maine [450] | no limit | no limit | viability [lower-alpha 143] | viability [lower-alpha 143] | viability [lower-alpha 143] | viability |
Maryland [451] | no limit | no limit | viability [lower-alpha 144] | no limit | viability [lower-alpha 144] | viability [lower-alpha 144] |
Massachusetts | no limit | no limit | 24 weeks | no limit | 24 weeks | 24 weeks |
Michigan [lower-alpha 133] [454] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit |
Minnesota [455] [456] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit |
Mississippi [457] [458] [459] | no limit | prohibited | 20 weeks | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Missouri [460] | no limit | no limit | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Montana | no limit | no limit | viability | viability | viability | viability |
Nebraska [461] [462] | no limit | no limit | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 135] | 12 weeks | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Nevada | no limit | no limit | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks |
New Hampshire [463] | no limit | no limit | 24 weeks | no limit | 24 weeks | 24 weeks |
New Jersey | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit |
New Mexico [464] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit |
New York | no limit | no limit | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 145] | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 145] | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 145] | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 145] |
North Carolina [466] | no limit | no limit | 20 weeks | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 146] | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
North Dakota [467] [468] | no limit | no limit | viability [lower-alpha 147] | viability [lower-alpha 147] | viability [lower-alpha 147] | viability [lower-alpha 147] |
Ohio [469] [470] [lower-alpha 133] | no limit | no limit | viability [lower-alpha 147] | viability [lower-alpha 147] | viability [lower-alpha 147] | viability [lower-alpha 147] |
Oklahoma [471] [472] | no limit | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Oregon | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit |
Pennsylvania | no limit | no limit | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks |
Rhode Island | no limit | no limit | viability | viability | viability | viability |
South Carolina [473] [474] [475] | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks | no limit | heartbeat [lower-alpha 136] | heartbeat [lower-alpha 136] |
South Dakota [476] | no limit | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Tennessee [477] | no limit | no limit | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Texas [478] [479] | no limit | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Utah [480] [481] [482] | no limit | no limit | no limit | 18 weeks [lower-alpha 148] [lower-alpha 147] | 18 weeks [lower-alpha 147] | 18 weeks [lower-alpha 147] |
Vermont [lower-alpha 133] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit |
Virginia | no limit | no limit | 6 months | 6 months | 6 months | 6 months |
Washington [483] | no limit | no limit | viability | viability | viability | viability |
West Virginia [484] | no limit | no limit | 11 weeks [lower-alpha 149] | prohibited [lower-alpha 150] | prohibited | prohibited |
Wisconsin [485] [486] [487] | no limit | no limit [lower-alpha 147] | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 135] [lower-alpha 147] | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 135] [lower-alpha 147] | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 135] [lower-alpha 147] | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 135] [lower-alpha 147] |
Wyoming [488] [489] [490] | no limit | no limit | viability | viability | viability [lower-alpha 147] | viability [lower-alpha 147] |
Uruguay [491] [492] | no limit | no limit | 14 weeks [lower-alpha 151] | no limit | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 151] | 12 weeks |
Uzbekistan [494] | permitted | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 12 weeks |
Vanuatu [495] | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 152] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Vatican City | prohibited [lower-alpha 153] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Venezuela [503] [504] | 22 weeks | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Vietnam [505] [506] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 154] |
Yemen [510] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Zambia [511] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited |
Zimbabwe [512] [513] | 22 weeks | 22 weeks | 22 weeks [lower-alpha 155] | 22 weeks | prohibited [lower-alpha 156] | prohibited [lower-alpha 156] |
The table below summarizes the legal grounds for abortion in autonomous jurisdictions not included in the previous table.
Jurisdiction | Risk to life | Risk to health | Rape | Fetal impairment | Economic or social | On request |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Akrotiri and Dhekelia [516] | permitted | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 157] | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 157] | prohibited |
American Samoa [517] | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Anguilla [518] | no limit | 28 weeks | prohibited | 28 weeks | prohibited | prohibited |
Aruba [519] | permitted [lower-alpha 158] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Bermuda [520] | permitted | permitted | permitted | permitted | prohibited | prohibited |
British Virgin Islands [521] | no limit | 28 weeks | prohibited | 28 weeks | prohibited | prohibited |
Cayman Islands [522] | permitted | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Cook Islands [523] [lower-alpha 159] | permitted | permitted [lower-alpha 160] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Curaçao [527] | permitted [lower-alpha 158] | prohibited [lower-alpha 161] | prohibited [lower-alpha 161] | prohibited [lower-alpha 161] | prohibited [lower-alpha 161] | prohibited [lower-alpha 161] |
Falkland Islands [529] | no limit | no limit | permitted [lower-alpha 157] | no limit | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 157] | prohibited |
Faroe Islands [530] | no limit | no limit | 16 weeks | 16 weeks | prohibited [lower-alpha 162] | prohibited |
Gibraltar [531] | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 163] | no limit | 12 weeks [lower-alpha 157] | prohibited |
Greenland [533] | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks |
Guam [534] [535] | no limit | no limit [lower-alpha 164] | 26 weeks [lower-alpha 164] | 26 weeks [lower-alpha 164] | 13 weeks [lower-alpha 164] | 13 weeks [lower-alpha 164] |
Guernsey [subdivisions] | permitted [lower-alpha 165] | permitted [lower-alpha 165] | varies [lower-alpha 166] | varies [lower-alpha 166] | varies [lower-alpha 166] | prohibited |
Alderney [538] [lower-alpha 167] | permitted [lower-alpha 165] | permitted [lower-alpha 165] | prohibited [lower-alpha 167] | prohibited [lower-alpha 167] | prohibited [lower-alpha 167] | prohibited |
Guernsey [539] | no limit | no limit | permitted [lower-alpha 157] | no limit | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 157] | prohibited |
Sark [538] | permitted [lower-alpha 165] | permitted [lower-alpha 165] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Isle of Man [542] | no limit | no limit | 23 weeks | no limit | 23 weeks | 14 weeks |
Jersey [543] | no limit | no limit | 12 weeks | 24 weeks | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
Montserrat [544] | no limit | viability | prohibited | viability | prohibited | prohibited |
Niue | permitted [lower-alpha 168] | permitted [lower-alpha 168] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Northern Mariana Islands [550] | prohibited [lower-alpha 169] | prohibited [lower-alpha 169] | prohibited [lower-alpha 169] | prohibited [lower-alpha 169] | prohibited [lower-alpha 169] | prohibited [lower-alpha 169] |
Pitcairn Islands [lower-alpha 170] | no limit | no limit | permitted [lower-alpha 129] | no limit | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 129] | prohibited |
Puerto Rico [554] | no limit | no limit | no limit [lower-alpha 171] | no limit [lower-alpha 171] | no limit [lower-alpha 171] | prohibited [lower-alpha 171] |
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha [lower-alpha 172] | no limit | no limit | permitted [lower-alpha 129] | no limit | 24 weeks [lower-alpha 129] | prohibited |
Sint Maarten [559] | permitted [lower-alpha 158] | prohibited [lower-alpha 173] | prohibited [lower-alpha 173] | prohibited [lower-alpha 173] | prohibited [lower-alpha 173] | prohibited [lower-alpha 173] |
Tokelau [560] | permitted [lower-alpha 174] | permitted [lower-alpha 174] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
Turks and Caicos Islands [562] | permitted [lower-alpha 175] | permitted [lower-alpha 175] | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited | prohibited |
United States Virgin Islands [563] | no limit | no limit | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks |
The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with Europe and North America and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(July 2022) |
Legal limits may not be directly comparable. Limits may be expressed in trimesters, months, weeks of pregnancy (implantation), weeks from fertilization, or weeks from last menstrual period (LMP).
Illegal Legal but generally unavailable (Northern Ireland) Legal first 5 weeks (Turkmenistan) Legal first 10 weeks Legal first 11 weeks (Estonia) Legal first 12 weeks Legal first 13 weeks (3 months, Austria, Tunisia) Legal first 14 weeks Legal first 18 weeks Legal first 22 weeks (Iceland) Legal first 24 weeks |
Illegal, limited exceptions Legal but no providers Legal through 12th week LMP* Legal through 15th week LMP* (1st trimester) Legal through 18th week LMP* Legal through 20th week LMP* Legal through 22nd week LMP* (5 months) Legal through 24th week LMP* (5½ months) Legal through second trimester Legal at any stage *LMP is the time since the last menstrual period began. |
Available first 12 weeks (PEI) Available first 13 weeks Available first 16 weeks Available first 19 weeks Available first 20 weeks Available first 24 weeks Available first 25 weeks |
According to a report by Women on Waves,[ better source needed ] approximately 25% of the world's population[ as of? ] lives in countries with "highly restrictive abortion laws"—that is, laws which either completely ban abortion, or allow it only to save the mother's life. This category includes several countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania, as well as Andorra and Malta in Europe. [564] The Center for Reproductive Rights report that "[t]he inability to access safe and legal abortion care impacts 700 million women of reproductive age." [565]
Some of the countries of Central America, notably El Salvador, have also come to international attention due to very forceful enforcement of the laws, including the incarceration of a gang-rape victim for homicide when she gave birth to a stillborn son and was accused of attempting an illegal abortion. [566] [567] [568]
El Salvador has some of the strictest abortion laws of any country. Abortion under all circumstances, including rape, incest, and risk to the mother's health, is illegal. Women can be criminalized and penalized to up to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of an abortion. El Salvador's abortion laws are so severe that miscarriages and stillbirths can sometimes be enough for conviction. The Inter-American Court has already ruled that El Salvador was responsible for the death of Manuela, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2008 for aggravated homicide after suffering an obstetric emergency that resulted in her losing her pregnancy. [569] [570]
Controversy over the beginning of pregnancy occurs in different contexts, particularly in a legal context, and is particularly discussed within the abortion debate from the point of measuring the gestational age of the pregnancy. Pregnancy can be measured from a number of convenient points, including the day of last menstruation, ovulation, fertilization, implantation and chemical detection. A common medical way to calculate gestational age is to measure pregnancy from the first day of the last menstrual cycle. [lower-alpha 180] However, not all legal systems use this measure for the purpose of abortion law; for example countries such as Belgium, France, and Luxembourg use the term "pregnancy" in the abortion law to refer to the time elapsed from the sexual act that led to conception, which is presumed to be 2 weeks after the end of the last menstrual period. [lower-alpha 181]
Exceptions in abortion laws occur either in countries where abortion is as a general rule illegal or in countries that have abortion on request with gestational limits. For example, if a country allows abortion on request until 12 weeks, it may create exceptions to this general gestation limit for later abortions in specific circumstances. [576]
There are a few exceptions commonly found in abortion laws. Legal domains which do not have abortion on demand will often allow it when the health of the mother is at stake. "Health of the mother" may mean something different in different areas: for example, prior to December 2018, Ireland allowed abortion only to save the mother's life, whereas abortion opponents in the United States argue health exceptions are used so broadly as to render a ban essentially meaningless. [577]
Laws allowing abortion in cases of rape or incest often differ. For example, before Roe v. Wade , thirteen U.S. states allowed abortion in the case of either rape or incest, but only Mississippi permitted abortion of pregnancies due to rape, and no state permitted it for just incest. [578]
Many[ vague ] countries allow abortion only through the first or second trimester, and some may allow abortion in cases of fetal defects, e.g., Down syndrome, or where the pregnancy is the result of a sexual crime.
Laws in some countries with liberal abortion laws protect access to abortion services. Such legislation often seeks to guard abortion clinics against obstruction, vandalism, picketing, and other actions, or to protect patients and employees of such facilities from threats and harassment. Other laws create a perimeter around a facility, known variously as a "buffer zone", "bubble zone", or "access zone", where demonstrations opposing abortion are not permitted. Protests and other displays are restricted to a certain distance from the building, which varies depending on the law. Similar zones have also been created to protect the homes of abortion providers and clinic staff. Bubble zone laws are divided into "fixed" and "floating" categories. Fixed bubble zone laws apply to the static area around the facility itself, and floating laws to objects in transit, such as people or cars. [579] Because of conflicts between anti-abortion activists on one side and women seeking abortion and medical staff who provides abortion on the other side, some laws are quite strict: in South Africa for instance, any person who prevents the lawful termination of a pregnancy or obstructs access to a facility for the termination of a pregnancy faces up to 10 years in prison (section 10.1 (c) of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act [580] ).
On 3 November 2020, an association of 20 Kenyan charities urged the government of Kenya to withdraw from the Geneva Consensus Declaration (GCD), a US-led international accord that sought to limit access to abortion for girls and women around the world. GCD was signed by 33 nations, on 22 October 2020. [581]
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|
Year | Jurisdiction | Description | Abortion access affirmed or expanded? |
---|---|---|---|
1879 | Canada | Abortion trial of Emily Stowe | |
1938 | United Kingdom | Rex v Bourne Abortion in case of risk to physical or mental health included in risk to life. The decision was also implemented by some British territories and their successors. [367] | Yes |
1952 | Canada | Azoulay v R [582] | |
1969 | Victoria (Australia) | R v Davidson [lower-alpha 182] Abortion allowed in case of risk to life, and physical or mental health. [583] | Yes |
1971 | United States | United States v. Vuitch | Restrictions upheld |
New South Wales (Australia) | R v Wald Abortion in case of socioeconomic reasons included in risk to physical or mental health. | Yes | |
1973 | United States | Doe v. Bolton Abortion allowed after viability if necessary to protect her health. | |
Roe v. Wade Abortion allowed on demand in the entire country. | |||
1975 | Germany | German Federal Constitutional Court abortion decision | Law restricted |
1976 | Canada | Morgentaler v R | Restrictions upheld |
United States | Planned Parenthood v. Danforth | Legalization upheld | |
1979 | Maher v. Roe | ||
Colautti v. Franklin | |||
1980 | Puerto Rico | Pueblo v. Duarte Application of Roe v. Wade to Puerto Rico. [554] | Yes |
United States | Harris v. McRae | ||
1981 | H. L. v. Matheson | Restrictions upheld | |
Israel | A. v. B. Paternal consent not required. | Yes | |
1983 | United States | City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health | |
1986 | Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists | ||
1988 | Canada | R v Morgentaler | Yes |
1989 | Borowski v Canada (AG) | ||
United States | Webster v. Reproductive Health Services | Restrictions upheld | |
Canada | Tremblay v Daigle | Yes | |
1990 | United States | Hodgson v. Minnesota | |
1991 | Rust v. Sullivan | ||
1992 | Ireland | Attorney General v X Abortion allowed in case of risk to life, including risk of suicide. | Yes |
United States | Planned Parenthood v. Casey | ||
1993 | Bray v. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic | ||
Germany | 2 BvF 2/90 [169] | ||
Canada | R v Morgentaler | Yes | |
1995 | New South Wales (Australia) | CES v. Superclinics Physical or mental health should be considered not only during the pregnancy but also after the birth. | |
1997 | Poland | K 26/96 Abortion for economic or social reasons ruled unconstitutional. [339] | Law restricted |
United States | Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists | ||
1998 | South Africa | Christian Lawyers Association v Minister of Health Law allowing abortion on demand ruled constitutional. | Legalization upheld |
2000 | United States | Hill v. Colorado | |
Stenberg v. Carhart Supreme Court struck down Nebraska's partial-birth abortion ban. | Yes | ||
2001 | Argentina | T., S. v. Government of Buenos Aires City [584] | |
2003 | United States | Scheidler v. National Organization for Women | |
2006 | Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England | ||
Scheidler v. National Organization for Women | |||
Gonzales v. Carhart Supreme Court upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. | Restrictions upheld | ||
Colombia | Constitutional Court allowed abortion in case of danger to woman's life or health, rape, and fetal deformation. [119] | Yes | |
Council of Europe | D v Ireland | ||
New South Wales (Australia) | R v Sood [585] | ||
2007 | Council of Europe | Tysiąc v Poland [586] | |
Slovakia | Constitutional Court ruled law allowing abortion on demand constitutional. [587] | Legalization upheld | |
2008 | Nepal | Achyut Kharel v. Government of Nepal [588] | |
2009 | Council of Europe | A, B and C v Ireland The court rejected the argument that article 8 conferred a right to abortion, but found that Ireland had violated the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to provide an accessible and effective procedure by which a woman can have established whether she qualifies for a legal abortion. | Yes |
Nepal | Lakshmi v. Government of Nepal Supreme Court upheld and expanded legal abortion. [589] | ||
2011 | United Kingdom | British Pregnancy Advisory Service v Secretary of State for Health [590] | |
2012 | Argentina | F., A. L. Abortion allowed in case of rape of any woman, regardless of her mental health. [591] | Yes |
Brazil | ADPF 54 Abortion allowed in case of anencephaly. [592] | ||
Council of Europe | P. and S. v. Poland [593] | ||
2013 | El Salvador | Case of "Beatriz" [594] | |
2014 | Bolivia | Ruling 0206/2014 [595] | |
Ireland | P.P. v. Health Service Executive | ||
2015 | Dominican Republic | Constitutional Court ruled law allowing abortion in certain cases unconstitutional. [596] | Law restricted |
Rwanda | RPA 0787/15/HC/KIG [597] | ||
2016 | United States | Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt | Yes |
United Nations | Mellet v Ireland | ||
2017 | Chile | Constitutional Court ruled law allowing abortion in certain cases constitutional. [113] | Yes |
Croatia | Constitutional Court ruled law allowing abortion on demand constitutional. [598] | Legalization upheld | |
2018 | United Kingdom | Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission v Department of Justice [599] | |
2019 | South Korea | Abortion allowed on request. Decision took effect in 2021. [382] | Yes |
Australia | Clubb v Edwards | ||
Kenya | FIDA-Kenya and Others v. Attorney General and Others Abortion allowed in case of rape. [209] | Yes | |
2020 | Poland | K 1/20 Abortion in case of fetal deformity ruled unconstitutional. The decision was implemented on 27 January 2021. [338] | Law restricted |
Thailand | Ruling No. 4/2563 [600] | ||
Colombia | Constitutional Court ruled law allowing abortion in certain cases constitutional rejecting both total ban and legalization. [601] | Law upheld | |
2021 | Ecuador | Abortion allowed in case of rape of any woman, regardless of her mental health. [146] | Yes |
Mexico | Deadlines in case of pregnancy after rape ruled unconstitutional. [249] [250] | ||
Penalties for abortion ruled unconstitutional. [40] [41] | |||
[602] | |||
[603] [604] | |||
Inter-American Court of Human Rights | Manuela and Others v. El Salvador [605] | ||
United States | United States v. Texas | Restrictions upheld | |
Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson | |||
2022 | Colombia | Constitutional Court decriminalized abortion up to 24 weeks of gestation. [39] | Yes |
United States | Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization States may now ban or restrict abortion before viability, Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey overturned. | Law restricted | |
India | Abortion allowed under the same criteria regardless of marital status. [606] | Yes | |
2023 | Mexico | Abortion allowed at federal health facilities anywhere in the country. [247] [248] | Yes |
Abortion in the United Kingdom is de facto available under the terms of the Abortion Act 1967 in Great Britain and the Abortion (No.2) Regulations 2020 in Northern Ireland. The procurement of an abortion remains a criminal offence in Great Britain under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, although the Abortion Act provides a legal defence for both the pregnant woman and her doctor in certain cases. Although a number of abortions did take place before the 1967 Act, there have been around 10 million abortions in the United Kingdom. Around 200,000 abortions are carried out in England and Wales each year and just under 14,000 in Scotland; the most common reason cited under the ICD-10 classification system for around 98% of all abortions is "risk to woman's mental health."
Late termination of pregnancy, also referred to politically as third trimester abortion, describes the termination of pregnancy by inducing labor during a late stage of gestation. In this context, late is not precisely defined, and different medical publications use varying gestational age thresholds. As of 2015 in the United States, more than 90% of abortions occur before the 13th week, 1.3% of abortions in the United States took place after the 21st week, and less than 1% occur after 24 weeks.
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 18th week.
Abortion in Germany is illegal, but nonpunishable during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy upon condition of mandatory counseling. The same goes later in pregnancy in cases that the pregnancy poses an important danger to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman. In the case that the abortion is because of a rape, counseling is not mandatory. The woman needs to receive counseling, called Schwangerschaftskonfliktberatung, at least three days prior to the abortion and must take place at a state-approved centre, which afterwards gives the applicant a Beratungsschein.
Abortion has been legal in India under various circumstances with the introduction of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Regulations, 2003 were issued under the Act to enable women to access safe and legal abortion services.
Abortion in Colombia is freely available on request up to the 24th week of pregnancy, due to a ruling by the Constitutional Court on February 21, 2022. Later in pregnancy, it is only allowed in cases of risk of death to the pregnant woman, fetal malformation, or rape, according to a Constitutional Court ruling in 2006.
Abortion in Denmark was fully legalized on 1 October 1973, allowing the procedure to be done electively if a woman's pregnancy has not exceeded its 12th week. Under Danish law, the patient must be over the age of 18 to decide on an abortion alone; parental consent is required for minors, except in special circumstances. An abortion can be performed after 12 weeks if the woman's life or health are in danger. A woman may also be granted an authorization to abort after 12 weeks if certain circumstances are proved to be present.
Abortion in Spain is legal upon request up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, and at later stages in cases of risk to the life or health of the woman or serious fetal defects.
Abortion in Greece has been fully legalized since 1986, when Law 1609/1986 was passed effective from 3 July 1986. Partial legalization of abortion in Greece was passed in Law 821 in 1978 that provided for the legal termination of a pregnancy, with no time limitation, in the event of a threat to the health or life of the woman. This law also allowed for termination up to the 12th week of pregnancy due to psychiatric indications and to the 20th week due to fetal pathology. Following the passage of the 1986 law, abortions can be performed on-demand in hospitals for women whose pregnancies have not exceeded 12 weeks. In the case of rape or incest, an abortion can occur as late as 19 weeks, and as late as 24 weeks in the case of fetal abnormalities. In case of inevitable risk to the life of the pregnant woman or a risk of serious and continuous damage to her physical or mental health, termination of pregnancy is legal any time before birth. Girls under the age of 18 must get written permission from a parent or guardian before being allowed an abortion.
Foeticide, or feticide, is the act of killing a fetus, or causing a miscarriage. Definitions differ between legal and medical applications, whereas in law, feticide frequently refers to a criminal offense, in medicine the term generally refers to a part of an abortion procedure in which a provider intentionally induces fetal demise to avoid the chance of an unintended live birth, or as a standalone procedure in the case of selective reduction.
Forced abortion is a form of reproductive coercion that refers to the act of compelling a woman to undergo termination of a pregnancy against her will or without explicit consent. Forced abortion may also be defined as coerced abortion, and may occur due to a variety of outside forces such as societal pressure, or due to intervention by perpetrators such as an intimate partner, parental guardian, medical practitioners, or others who may cause abortion by force, threat or coercion. It may also occur 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, which does not include instances in which the pregnant individual is at risk of life-threatening injury due to unsustainable pregnancy. Similar to other forms of reproductive coercion such as forced sterilization, forced abortion may include a physical invasion of female reproductive organs, therefore creating the possibly of causing long term threat or injury preventing viable future pregnancies. Forced abortion is considered a human rights violation by the United Nations due to its failure to comply with the human right to reproductive choice and control without coercion, discrimination, and violence.
Abortion in San Marino is legal in the first 12 weeks of gestation for any reason. It is also legal until fetal viability if the pregnancy poses a risk to the woman's life, if the fetus has an anomaly that poses a risk to the woman's health, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. In case of risk to the woman's life after fetal viability, the pregnancy may also be interrupted by attempting a live birth.
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 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.
A termination for medical reasons (TFMR) is an induced abortion motivated by medical indications involving the fetus or mother. In some countries, health risks are the only basis for obtaining a legal abortion. Prenatal screening can allow early diagnosis, and abortion if desired or necessary. Some medical organizations advocate the offer of diagnostic testing by chorionic villi sampling, and amniocentesis to all pregnant women, as a matter of course.
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 no new law has been enacted. Thus there are no gestational limits or other restrictions.
As of 2024, abortion is illegal in Indiana. It is only legal in cases involving fatal fetal abnormalities, to preserve the life and physical health of the mother, and in cases of rape or incest up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. Previously abortion in Indiana was legal up to 20 weeks; a near-total ban that was scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2023, was placed on hold due to further legal challenges, but is set to take place, after the Indiana Supreme Court denied an appeal by the ACLU, and once it certifies a previous ruling that an abortion ban doesn't violate the state constitution. In the wake of the 2022 Dobbs Supreme Court ruling, abortion in Indiana remained legal despite Indiana lawmakers voting in favor of a near-total abortion ban on August 5, 2022. Governor Eric Holcomb signed this bill into law the same day. The new law became effective on September 15, 2022. However, on September 22, 2022, Special Judge Kelsey B. Hanlon of the Monroe County Circuit Court granted a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the ban. Her ruling allows the state's previous abortion law, which allows abortions up to 20 weeks after fertilization with exceptions for rape and incest, to remain in effect.
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.
Abortion is illegal in Tanzania except to preserve the life of the mother. Under the Tanzanian penal code, health practitioners who perform illegal abortions may receive sentences of up to 14 years in prison, while those who procure abortions for themselves may be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
In Africa, abortion is subject to various national abortion laws. Most women in Africa live in countries with restrictive laws. Most countries in Africa are parties to the African Union's Maputo Protocol, the only international treaty that defines a right to abortion. Sub-Saharan Africa is the world region with the highest rates of unsafe abortions and abortion mortality. Most abortions in the region are unsafe. The region has the highest rate of unintended pregnancy, the primary motive for abortion. The most likely women to have abortions are young, unmarried, or urban. Post-abortion care is widely available. Abortion-rights movements emphasize public health arguments about the maternal mortality rate. Anti-abortion movements argue that the practice of abortion was imposed upon Africa by foreign powers.
Some 215 million women in the developing world as a whole have an unmet need for modern contraceptives ... If the 215 million women with unmet need used modern family planning methods ... [that] would result in about 22 million fewer unplanned births; 25 million fewer abortions; and seven million fewer miscarriages....If women's contraceptive needs were addressed (and assuming no changes in abortion laws) ... the number of unsafe abortions would decline by 73% from 20 million to 5.5 million.A few of the findings in that report were subsequently changed, and are available at "Facts on Investing in Family Planning and Maternal and Newborn Health" (PDF). Guttmacher Institute. November 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2012.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)While abortions after 20 weeks are statistically very rare (<2.5% of all abortions), there are people in Canada who require abortion beyond 20 weeks for serious and important reasons. There are only three service locations in Canada that offer abortion up to 23 weeks and 6 days (one in British Columbia, one in Southern Ontario, and one in Quebec). No providers in Canada offer abortion care beyond 23 weeks and 6 days.
In practice, it is extremely difficult to obtain a legal abortion; as a result, most abortions are clandestine and potentially unsafe.Updated as of 16 July 2019.