ISSUES
: Abortion
Chapter 1: Abortion facts
14
Abortion laws around the world: from
bans to easy access
Religion and culture help determine the rules, which range from tight restrictions to
terminations virtually on demand until the point of viability.
By Pamela Duncan, Molly Redden in New York and Jonathan Watts in Rio de Janeiro
I
t is easier for a woman to get an
abortion in conservative US states
like Texas, Catholic European
countries like Poland and Portugal –
and even in parts of Latin America –
than it is in Northern Ireland.
Abortion laws in Northern Ireland
and the Irish Republic are the most
restrictive in Europe. Terminations in
both jurisdictions are only permissible
on the grounds of a threat to the life
of the mother.
Inmost other parts of Europe abortion
is allowed without restriction up to
between ten and 14 weeks’ gestation.
In most countries abortions can be
carried out beyond this point, but
only on specific grounds.
So, for example, in Greece
abortions can be carried out on
demand up to a limit of 12 weeks.
However, a limit of 19 weeks applies
in cases where the pregnancy was
the result of rape and 24 weeks
where there is a threat to the life
or health of the woman and in
cases of foetal abnormality that
would result in a serious congenital
defect.
An exception to these graduated
restrictions on abortion is The
Netherlands where, the United
Nations notes, “abortion is
permitted virtually on request at
any time between implantation and
viability if performed by a physician
in a (licensed) hospital or clinic”.
In Poland, abortion is legal in
certain circumstances, including
where the pregnancy is the result
of rape or incest, in cases of foetal
impairment or to avert a danger to
the health or life of the pregnant
woman. The country has the lowest
recorded abortion rate in Europe
at just two abortions per 1,000 live
births in 2012.
In Finland, Iceland and the UK
restrictions are in place yet abortion
rates remain relatively high at 174,
223 and 253 terminations per 1,000
live births.
In Catholic Portugal and Spain
abortion
on
demand
was
introduced as a result of a 2007
referendum in the former and a
2010 law change in the latter.
However, in both countries
it remains contentious. In
Portugal, a recently adopted
bill requires women to pay
for
terminations
and
to
undergo more stringent tests
beforehand. In Spain in 2014,
the Government had to abandon
its plans to enact legislation
that would have imposed some
of the tightest restrictions in
Europe.
By far the highest abortion rate
recorded in Europe is in Russia,
where 551 abortions were
recorded per 1,000 live births
in 2011 according to figures
compiled by the World Health
Organization.
The Americas
In the US, where abortion laws
vary from state to state, the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention reported 210
abortions per 1,000 live births
in 2012.
States cannot pass laws
banning abortion outright and
