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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 Germany is permitted in the first trimester under the condition of mandatory counseling, and is permitted later in pregnancy in cases of medical necessity. In both cases, a waiting period of three days is required. The counseling, called Schwangerschaftskonfliktberatung, must take place at a state-approved centre, which afterwards gives the applicant a Beratungsschein. Abortions that do not meet these conditions are illegal.
Abortion in Chile is legal in the following cases: when the mother's life is at risk, when the fetus will not survive the pregnancy, and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in the case of rape. Between 1989 and 2017 Chile had one of the most restrictive abortion policies in the world, criminalizing its practice without exception.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Chad may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal in the country. Before the new penal code took effect in August 2017, homosexual activity between adults had never been criminalised. There is no legal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Abortion in the Philippines is mostly illegal.
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 Romania is currently legal as an elective procedure during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, and for medical reasons at later stages of pregnancy. In the year 2004, there were 216,261 live births and 191,000 reported abortions, meaning that 46% of the 407,261 reported pregnancies that year ended in abortion.
Abortion in Bolivia is illegal, except in the cases of rape, incest, or to protect the woman's health. This policy forms part of the Penal Code laid down in 1973, and has been in force since then. Due to the difficulty of receiving abortions - even if the abortion does fall under one of the exceptions to the law, judicial permission needs to be secured, which can take a very long time - many pregnant women end up having unsafe, clandestine abortions instead. According to the Bolivian Ministry of Health, almost all of the 67,000 abortions performed in Bolivia in 2011 were clandestine, with approximately half of the women who received them needing hospital care afterwards. This practice has been linked to the high maternal mortality rates in the country.
Prior to 2006, abortion in Colombia was illegal without exceptions. Therapeutic abortion to save a mother's life was permitted between 1837 and 1936. As of 2020, abortion isn't a crime when it occurs under these three exceptions: (a) the continuation of the pregnancy constitutes a danger to the life or health of the mother; (b) The existence of life-threatening fetal malformations; and (c) The pregnancy is the result of rape, non-consensual artificial insemination or incest.
Abortion laws in Portugal were liberalized on April 10, 2007, allowing the procedure to be performed on-demand if a woman's pregnancy has not exceeded its tenth week. There is a three-day waiting period for abortions. President Aníbal Cavaco Silva ratified the law allowing abortion, recommending nevertheless that measures should be taken to ensure abortion is the last resort. Despite the liberalization of the laws, as of a 2011 survey, many doctors were refusing to perform abortions – which they are allowed to do under a conscientious objection clause. Abortions at later stages are allowed for specific reasons, such as risk to woman's health reasons, rape and other sexual crimes, or fetal malformation; with restrictions increasing gradually at 12, 16 and 24 weeks.
Abortion in Liechtenstein is illegal in most circumstances and is punishable by prison terms for the woman and the physician. An attempt to legalize it in 2011 was defeated by voters. In April and November 2012, the Landtag failed to advance proposals to relax abortion laws.
Abortion in San Marino is generally illegal. Articles 153 and 154 of the Penal Code impose prison sentences for any woman who procures an abortion, any person who helps her and any person who performs the abortion. Abortions performed to save the life of the mother are generally permitted by legal principles of necessity, but the law makes no specific exceptions.
Abortion in Vanuatu is severely restricted by criminal law. Abortion is illegal under the provisions of section 117 of the Vanuatu Penal Code, Act No. 17 or 7 August 1981. The code states that any woman who intentionally induces a miscarriage is subject to up to two years' imprisonment. Abortion is illegal in cases of rape, incest, and threats to fetal health. The only allocations for abortion are "for good medical reasons", which a United Nations report interprets as to save the life of the pregnant woman and to preserve her physical and mental health. Section 113 of the code states that "No person shall, when a woman is about to be delivered of the child, prevent the child from being born alive by any act or omission of such a nature that, if the child had been born alive and had, then died..." although the italicized statement is vague about its meaning.
Abortion in Brunei is legal only when it is done to save a woman's life. In Brunei, a woman who induces her abortion is subject to up to seven years in prison. The penalty for someone who performs an abortion was 10–15 years.
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 is a controversial topic in Nigeria. Abortion in Nigeria is governed by two laws that differ depending on geographical location. Northern Nigeria is governed by The Penal Code and southern Nigeria is governed by The Criminal Code. The only legal way to have an abortion in Nigeria is if having the child is going to put the mother's life in danger. However, sex-selective abortion has long had acceptance in Nigeria.
Abortion in Egypt is prohibited by Articles 260–264 of the Penal Code of 1937. However, under Article 61 of the Penal Code, exceptions may be granted in cases of necessity, which has typically been interpreted to permit an abortion necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. In some cases, this exception has been extended to cases where the pregnancy poses dangers to the pregnant woman's health, and to cases of foetal impairment. A physician can only perform an abortion in such cases when two specialists approve, unless the woman's life is in imminent danger.
Abortion in South Korea is illegal in most circumstances, but illegal abortions are widespread and commonly performed at hospitals and clinics. The South Korean Constitutional Court on April 11, 2019 ruled the abortion ban unconstitutional and ordered the law's revision by the end of 2020.
Abortion in Malaysia is mostly illegal except in cases when a medical practitioner deems that continuing the pregnancy poses a danger to the mother's life, physical health, and mental well-being. Abortion in Malaysia is regulated under Sections 312-316 of the Penal Code. Access to abortion has been hampered by religious, cultural, and social stigmas against abortion, poor awareness of abortion legislation among health professionals, and the high cost of abortion services in the private health sector.
References
- ↑ "Tchad Code Pénal 2017 - Loi n°001/PR/2017" (PDF). 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
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