Human rights bodies have repeatedly condemned restrictive abortion laws as being incompatible with human rights norms. While a majority of women live in countries where they can exercise their right to abortion, 41 percent of women live under restrictive laws.
The inability to access safe and legal abortion care impacts million women of reproductive age. According to the World Health Organization, 23, women die of unsafe abortion each year and tens of thousands more experience significant health complications. Legal restrictions on abortion do not result in fewer abortions, instead they compel women to risk their lives and health by seeking out unsafe abortion care. The legal status of abortion indicates more than just where women and girls are legally permitted to decide whether to a pregnancy term or not.
In short, tracking the legal status of abortion shows us where women and girls are treated with equality and are afforded the opportunity to direct the course of their own lives. Our Abortion Law and Policy Guide showcases international and regional human rights norms, global medical standards, and comparative laws and policies on the following topics:.
The Center for Reproductive Rights tracks the most recent developments in abortion law and policy. The laws of countries in this category permit abortion on the basis of health or therapeutic grounds. The most common gestational limit for countries in this category is 12 weeks. Gestational limits are calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period, which is considered to occur two weeks prior to conception. Where laws specify that gestational age limits are calculated from the date of conception, these limits have been extended by two weeks.
The World's Abortion Laws. View by category Prohibited Altogether i. To Save the Woman's Life i. To Preserve Health i. Broad Social or Economic Grounds i. A constitutional court ruling struck down a decades-long ban on abortion. Under the new proposal, abortion would be banned after 14 weeks except in the case of a sex crime, or if the health of the mother is at risk, or if the fetus shows signs of severe birth defects, in which case abortion would be allowed up to 24 weeks, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
Last October, the country's parliament narrowly rejected a bill that would have made it harder to get an abortion. The proposed amendment, defeated by a margin, would have still allowed abortion on demand until 12 weeks into a pregnancy but would have doubled waiting periods to 96 hours, banned clinics from advertising services and made women declare their reasons for termination. Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled in February that existing laws criminalizing abortion were unconstitutional.
Thai lawmakers in January voted in favour of allowing abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy while retaining penalties for later terminations. Pro-choice activists said the move fell short of protecting the rights of the mother. The Central American country, which has a strict outright ban on abortion - even in cases of rape - will likely continue to face pressure from international organizations.
In , a United Nations expert group said three women put in prison under the law were detained unfairly. More than a dozen women have been jailed for abortion-related crimes.
This article was updated on Monday, 27 Sept. Texas abortion ban: Five countries with strict anti-abortion laws. Women struggle to access abortion as pandemic adds to hurdles in Europe. Our global editorial team of about 55 journalists and more than freelancers covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Thomson Reuters Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales registration number: About Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In Europe, the country of Malta is similar to Vatican City in that abortions are illegal, but there's one exception to the abortion law in Malta. According to the government of Malta, abortions can be performed if they are necessary to save the would-be mother's life.
Pregnancies often do not go as planned, in that health concerns or medical emergencies can arise during pregnancy, as well as at birth. The focus of the government of Malta's exception to their country's abortion law is the instance in which a mother's health might be at risk during pregnancy. An example of this is when a woman becomes pregnant. Still, the embryo does not grow within the mother's uterus, but rather, either in a different organ or just outside the uterus. Either way, these situations are called ectopic pregnancies, and they are fatal for women if the pregnancies are allowed to endure.
Abortion is the only option in this scenario, and in Malta, abortion in this situation would be legal. Here is a brief breakdown of some of the larger countries around the world and their respective perspectives on terminating pregnancies, laws regarding abortions to date, or bans placed on abortion throughout the years. This Latin American country has not completely restricted abortions, but they are not available for any woman or just any reason. The option to choose what is best for her body is not a right provided to women in Brazil.
Instead, abortions are only legal for women who have been raped by an assailant they do not know, as well as rape or sexual activity with a family member. Additionally, if the pregnant woman's life is at stake due to the pregnancy, she will be able to pursue the procedure.
Abortions are no longer illegal in Canada, though they were banned until the year The government of this North American country has since then reversed the laws that once made abortions illegal.
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