Countries Where Abortion Is Legal Map

Lawmakers in this state are considering the following bills that affect access to safe and legal abortion. 970 million women, who make up 59% of women of childbearing age, live in countries that largely allow abortion. While the majority of women live in countries where they can exercise their right to abortion, 41% of women live under restrictive laws. The lack of access to safe and legal abortion care affects 700 million women of childbearing age. According to the World Health Organization, 23,000 women die each year from unsafe abortions and tens of thousands more suffer significant health complications. Legal restrictions on abortion do not lead to fewer abortions, but force women to risk their lives and health by seeking unsafe abortion care. In a study published in 2019, JuÁrez and colleagues surveyed women across Mexico about their experiences with abortions. The team focused on three states with varying degrees of restriction, from a few restrictions in the Mexican state to many restrictions in the state of Querétaro. Moreover, Bearak says, their estimates cannot judge how abortion laws in a country would change or change in the short term. For example, in the United States, some states, including Texas, are currently tightening abortion laws.

The largest country in Latin America has not completely banned abortion, but it considers abortion a crime in all but a few circumstances: when the pregnant woman has been raped, if the pregnancy is the result of incest/sexual activity with a family member, or if the woman`s life would be endangered by the continuation of the pregnancy. These three exceptions are prevalent around the world and can be found in the abortion laws of many countries. Abortion has existed since ancient times, with natural abortions found in a variety of tribal peoples and in most written sources. The first known records of abortion techniques and general reproductive regulation date back to 2700 BC. J.-C. in China and 1550 BC. J.-C. in Egypt. [4] Early texts contain little mention of abortion or abortion law. When it comes to concern for the property rights of men, the preservation of social order and the duty to produce citizens capable of the State or the community. The harshest penalties were usually reserved for a woman who obtained an abortion against her husband`s will and slaves who performed an abortion on a high-status woman. Religious texts often contained harsh condemnations of abortion that recommended repentance but rarely imposed secular punishments.

At common law in England and the United States, abortion was illegal at any time after acceleration – when the movements of the fetus could first be felt by the woman. Under the live birth rule, the fetus in rerum natura was not considered a „reasonable being“; and abortion was not treated as murder under English law. „So we can certainly see the first evidence in Texas that people are struggling to access abortion, which makes intuitive sense,“ Says Bearak. And so restrictions in Texas are likely to lead to lower abortion rates in the short term. „But it remains to be seen exactly how this will affect in the long run. We don`t know how people will adapt. 576 million (36%) of women of childbearing age live in countries that allow abortion on demand. 75 countries in the world fall into this category. So, Bearak says, at the end of the day, very restrictive abortion laws are not correlated with a lower abortion rate. Instead, these laws correlate with more unwanted pregnancies, which ultimately results in an abortion rate comparable to that of countries where the procedure is accessible.

Although abortions are legal in almost all countries, at least under certain conditions, these conditions vary widely. According to a United Nations (UN) report with data collected up to 2019[40], abortion is allowed in 98% of countries to save a woman`s life. Other generally accepted reasons include maintaining physical (72%) or mental (69%) health, rape or incest (61%) and fetal impairment (61%). Performing an abortion for economic or social reasons is accepted in 37% of countries. Performing abortions solely on the basis of a woman`s request is allowed in 34% of countries, including Canada, most European countries and China. [40] Look at the map below to see if access to abortion is available in countries around the world, whether the procedure is prohibited or not, solely to preserve the life or health of the pregnant patient, to treat social or economic factors, or available upon request.