Abortion law

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abortion law is legislation which pertains to the provision of abortion. Abortion has at times emerged as a controversial subject in various societies because of the moral and ethical issues that surround it, though other considerations, such as a state's pro- or antinatalist policies or questions of inheritance and patriarchy, also dictate abortion law and regulation. It has been regularly banned and otherwise limited, though abortions have continued to be commonplace in many areas where it is illegal. Almost 2/3 of the world’s women currently reside in countries where abortion may be obtained on request for a broad range of social, economic or personal reasons. Abortion laws vary widely by country, ranging from Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Malta, and Vatican City, which ban the procedure entirely, to Canada, which places no restrictions on the provision of abortion whatsoever. Both supporters and opponents of legal abortion believe their position addresses a fundamental human right.

Contents 1 History 2 International law 3 National laws 3.1 Africa 3.2 Asia 3.3 Caribbean 3.4 Europe 3.5 Middle East 3.6 North and Central America 3.7 Australasia and Oceania 3.8 South America 4 Legal restrictions on later abortion 5 Case law 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

[edit] History

Abortion law
Part of the abortion series
History & overview
Case law History of abortion law Laws by country
Types of regulation
Buffer zones Conscience clauses Fetal protection Informed consent Late-term restrictions Parental involvement Spousal consent

Abortion and contraception have been widely available throughout the history of Western Civilization, despite ethical concerns on the part of some. Plato and Aristotle both argued in favor of compulsory abortion under certain circumstances, though Hippocrates expressly disapproved of the practice. Under Roman law, abortion sometimes occurred but family planning was conducted mainly through the exposure of healthy newborns--usually to protect the rights and interests of the biological father. References to abortion were included in the writings of Ovid, Seneca, Juvenal and Pliny, who included a list of abortifacients (drugs that induce an abortion) in one text. Early Christian philosophers, including Ivo of Chartres and Gratian, disapproved of abortion when it broke the link between the sexual act and procreation but argued that abortion of what Ivo termed an "unformed embryo" did not constitute homicide.

Religious authorities have taken various positions on abortion throughout history (see Religion and abortion). In 1588, Pope Sixtus V adopted a papal bull adopting the position of St. Thomas Aquinas that contraception and abortion were crimes against nature and sins against marriage. This verdict was relaxed three years later by Pope Gregory XIV, who pronounced that abortion before "hominization" should not be subject to church penalties that were any stricter than civil penalties. Common law positions on abortion in individual countries varied significantly from country to country.

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. In the 19th Century, many Western countries began to use statutes to codify or further restrictions on abortion. Anti-abortion forces were led by a combination of conservative groups opposed to abortion on moral grounds and medical professionals who were concerned about the danger presented by the procedure and the regular involvement of non-medical personnel in performing abortions.

It became clear in the following years, however, that illegal abortions continued to take place in large numbers even where abortions were expressly illegal. It was difficult to obtain sufficient evidence to prosecute the women and abortion doctors, and judges and juries were often reluctant to convict. Henry Morgentaler, for instance, was never convicted by a jury. 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 early 20th century, many countries had begun to legalize abortions when performed to protect the life of the woman, and in some cases to protect the health of the woman. Under Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet Union legalized all abortions in 1920, but this was fully reversed in 1936 by Joseph Stalin in order to increase population growth. Iceland was the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion under limited circumstances, doing so in 1935, and the earliest country to do so without recriminalizing it later. Only a handful of countries – mostly in Scandinavia —decriminalized abortion before Britain did so in 1967. Other countries soon followed, including Canada (1969), the United States (1973 in most states, pursuant to the federal Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion nationwide), France (1975), Austria (1975),New Zealand (1977), Italy (1978), the Netherlands (1980) and Belgium (1990). However, these countries vary greatly in the circumstances under which abortion is permitted. In 1975, the West German Supreme Court struck down a law legalizing abortion, holding that they contradict the constitution's human rights guarantees. After Germany's reunification, despite the legal status of abortion in the former East Germany, a compromise was reached which deemed most abortions illegal but does not penalize it under certain circumstances.

[edit] International law

In addition to national and regional laws, there are multi-national and international treaties, conventions, and laws that may actually be enforced on or within signatory nations. However, there is an inherent difficulty in the enforcement of international law due to the issue that state sovereignty poses. As such, the effectiveness of even binding multi-national efforts to legislate the rights to life and liberty in general, or abortion in specific, is difficult to measure. Examples of such efforts that have or might have bearing for abortion law, nationally or internationally, include:

• The 1978 American Convention on Human Rights states, in Article 4.1, "Every person has the right to have his life respected. This right shall be protected by law and, in general, from the moment of conception." The Convention is considered binding only for the 24 of 35 member nations of the Organization of American States who ratified it. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found that the words "in general" left room for individual nations to determine their own abortion legislation.^[1]

• The 1994 Programme of Action states, in paragraph 8.25, "In no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning. . . Any measures or changes related to abortion within the health system can only be determined at the national or local level according to the national legislative process. In circumstances where abortion is not against the law, such abortion should be safe." The nonbinding document was adopted by at least 179 countries at the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo, Egypt.

• The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action states, in paragraph 96, “The human rights of women include their right to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.” The nonbinding document has been adopted by 189 countries at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China. It calls upon nations in which abortion remains illegal to reconsider laws that punish women, but does not specifically advocate the legalization of abortion.

[edit] National laws

The following series of tables present the current abortion legislation of the world's nations as divided by continent. Actual access to abortion may vary significantly on the basis of geography, income, cost, health care, social factors, and other issues. Many jurisdictions also place other restrictions on abortion access, including waiting periods, the provision of information, the assent of multiple doctors, and spousal or parental notification.

Legend

• Yes - Legal
• No - Illegal
• 1st - Legal during 1st trimester only (exact date — e.g. number of weeks — may vary)
• 2nd - Legal during 1st and 2nd trimester only (exact date may vary)
• Restricted - Legal but subject to significant restrictions
• Varies - Varies by region
•  ? - Information is unavailable or the law is too ambiguous

[edit] Africa

Country	To protect woman's life	Physical health	Mental health	Rape	Fetal defects	Socio-economic factors	On request
Algeria	Yes	2nd	2nd	No	No	No	No
Angola	1st	No	No	No	No	No	No
Benin	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	No
Botswana	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Burkina Faso	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st	Yes	No	No
Burundi	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	No	No
Cameroon	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	No	No	No
Cape Verde	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st	Yes	1st	1st
Central African Republic	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Chad	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	No	No
Comoros	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	No	No
Congo (Brazzaville)	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Congo (Kinshasa)	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Côte d'Ivoire	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Djibouti	Yes	?	?	No	No	No	No
Egypt	Restricted	No	No	No	No	No	No
Equatorial Guinea	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	No	No
Eritrea	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	No	No
Ethiopia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Gabon	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Gambia	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Ghana	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Guinea	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Guinea-Bissau	Yes	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Kenya	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	No	No	No	No
Lesotho	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Liberia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Libya	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Madagascar	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Malawi	Restricted	No	No	No	No	No	No
Mali	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
Mauritania	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Mauritius	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Morocco	1st	1st	1st	No	No	No	No
Mozambique	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	1st (illegal, but selectively allowed)[2]
Namibia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Niger	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Nigeria	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Rwanda	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
São Tomé and Príncipe	1st	No	No	No	No	No	No
Senegal	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Seychelles	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	No	No
Sierra Leone	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Somalia	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
South Africa	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st
Sudan	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
Swaziland	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Tanzania	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Togo	1st	?	?	?	?	No	No
Tunisia	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Uganda	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Western Sahara	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Zambia	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Zimbabwe	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No

[edit] Asia

Country	To protect woman's life	Physical health	Mental health	Rape	Fetal defects	Socio-economic factors	On request
Afghanistan	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Bangladesh	Yes	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Bhutan[3]	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Brunei	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Cambodia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
China	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hong Kong	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
India	Yes	Yes	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	No
Indonesia	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Japan	YES	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	No
Kazakhstan	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st
Kyrgyzstan	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st
Laos	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Malaysia	1st	1st	1st	No	No	No	No
Mongolia	Restricted	Restricted	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Myanmar	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Nepal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st	1st
North Korea	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Pakistan	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Philippines	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Singapore	Yes	Yes	Yes	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd
South Korea[4]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No (but not punished)
Sri Lanka	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Tajikistan	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st
Thailand	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Turkmenistan	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st
Uzbekistan	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st
Vietnam	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

[edit] Caribbean

Country	To protect woman's life	Physical health	Mental health	Rape	Fetal defects	Socio-economic factors	On request
Antigua and Barbuda	1st	No	No	No	No	No	No
Bahamas	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	No
Barbados	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Cuba	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Dominica	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Dominican Republic	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Grenada	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Haiti	Yes	?	No	?	?	No	No
Jamaica	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	No	No	No	No
Puerto Rico	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Saint Lucia	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Trinidad and Tobago	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No

[edit] Europe

Country	To protect woman's life	Physical health	Mental health	Rape	Fetal defects	Socio-economic factors	On request
Albania	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Andorra	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Armenia	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st
Austria	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st	Yes	1st	1st (illegal, but not punished)
Azerbaijan	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st
Belgium	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Belarus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bulgaria	Yes	2nd	1st	1st	Yes	1st	1st
Croatia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cyprus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No
Czech Republic	2nd	2nd	1st	1st	2nd	1st	1st
Denmark	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Estonia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Faroe Islands	2nd	No	No	2nd	2nd	No	No
Finland	Yes	Yes	Yes	2nd	2nd	2nd	No
France	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st	Yes	1st	1st
Georgia	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st
Germany	Yes	Yes	1st	Yes	Yes	1st	1st (illegal, but not punished)
Great Britain	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Greece	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hungary	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Iceland	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Ireland	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Italy	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st	Yes	1st	1st
Latvia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Liechtenstein	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Lithuania	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Luxembourg	Yes	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	No
Macedonia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Malta	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Moldova	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st
Monaco	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Montenegro	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Netherlands	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Norway	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st
Northern Ireland[5]	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Poland	Yes	Yes	No	1st	2nd	No	No
Portugal	2nd	2nd	1st	2nd	2nd	1st	1st
Romania	Yes	Yes	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Russia	Yes	Yes	Yes	2nd	Yes	2nd	1st
San Marino	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Serbia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Slovakia	2nd	2nd	1st	2nd	2nd	1st	1st
Slovenia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Spain	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st	2nd	No	No
Sweden	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Switzerland	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st	1st
Turkey	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st	Yes	1st	1st
Ukraine	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st
Vatican City	No	No	No	No	No	No	No

[edit] Middle East

Country	To protect woman's life	Physical health	Mental health	Rape	Fetal defects	Socio-economic factors	On request
Bahrain	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Iran	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Iraq	Restricted	No	No	No	Restricted	No	No
Israel	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Jordan	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Kuwait	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	No	Restricted	No	No
Lebanon	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Oman	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Qatar	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Restricted	No	No
Saudi Arabia	1st	Restricted	Restricted	No	No	No	No
Syria	Restricted	No	No	No	No	No	No
United Arab Emirates	Restricted	No	No	No	No	No	No
Yemen	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No

[edit] North and Central America

Country	To protect woman's life	Physical health	Mental health	Rape	Fetal defects	Socio-economic factors	On request
Belize	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Canada	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Costa Rica	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	No	No
El Salvador	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Guatemala	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Honduras	Restricted	No	No	No	No	No	No
Mexico	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Varies
Nicaragua	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Panama	Yes	Yes	No	1st	Yes	No	No
United States	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Varies

[edit] Australasia and Oceania

Country	To protect woman's life	Physical health	Mental health	Rape	Fetal defects	Socio-economic factors	On request
Australia	Yes	Varies	Varies	Varies	Varies	Varies	Varies
Cook Islands	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Fiji	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	No
Kiribati	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Maldives	Restricted	Restricted	No	No	No	No	No
Marshall Islands	Restricted	No	No	No	No	No	No
Federated States of Micronesia	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Nauru	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	No	No	No	No
New Zealand	Yes	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	Restricted	No
Niue	Yes	?	?	No	No	No	No
Palau	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Papua New Guinea	1st	1st	1st	No	No	No	No
Samoa	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Solomon Islands	Restricted	No	No	No	No	No	No
Tonga	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Tuvalu	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Vanuatu	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No

[edit] South America

Country	To protect woman's life	Physical health	Mental health	Rape	Fetal defects	Socio-economic factors	On request
Argentina	Yes	Yes	No	Restricted	No	No	No
Bolivia	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	No	No	No
Brazil	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Chile	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Colombia	Yes	Restricted	?	Yes	Restricted	No	No
Ecuador	Yes	Yes	Yes	Restricted	No	No	No
Guyana	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	1st	1st	1st
Paraguay	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Peru	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Suriname	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Uruguay	Yes	Yes	1st	1st	No	1st	No
Venezuela	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No

[edit] Legal restrictions on later abortion

See also: Late-term abortion

As of 1998, among the 152 most populous countries, 54 either banned abortion entirely or permitted it only to save the life of the pregnant woman.^[6] In contrast, another 44 of the 152 most populous countries generally banned late-term abortions after a particular gestational age: 12 weeks (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Rep., Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Rep., Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Norway, Russian Fed., Slovak Rep., Slovenia, South Africa, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yugoslavia), 13 weeks (Italy), 14 weeks (Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Germany, Hungary, and Romania), 18 weeks (Sweden), viability (Netherlands and to some extent the United States), and 24 weeks (Singapore and the United Kingdom [Northern Ireland excluded]).^[6]

[edit] Case law

Australia

• R v Davidson (1969)

Canada

• Abortion trial of Emily Stowe (1879)
• Azoulay v. The Queen (1952)
• Morgentaler v. The Queen (1976)
• R. v. Morgentaler (1988)
• Borowski v. Canada (Attorney General) (1989)
• Tremblay v. Daigle (1989)
• R. v. Morgentaler (1993)

Germany

• German Federal Constitutional Court abortion decision (1975)

Ireland

• Attorney General v. X (1992)

United States

• Roe v. Wade (1973)
• Doe v. Bolton (1973)
• H. L. v. Matheson (1981)
• City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health (1983)
• Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989)
• Hodgson v. Minnesota (1990)
• Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)
• Bray v. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic (1993)
• Stenberg v. Carhart (2000)
• McCorvey v. Hill (2004)
• Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of New England (2006)
• Gonzales v. Carhart (2007)

[edit] See also

• Abortion
• Abortion by country
• Abortion debate
• History of abortion
• Mexico City Policy
• Religion and abortion
• Roe effect
• Henry Morgentaler
• Wrongful abortion

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Abortion Laws of the World. (n.d.). Annual Review of Population Law. Retrieved July 14, 2006.
• Rahman, Anika, Katzive, Laura, & Henshaw, Stanley K. (1998). A Global Review of Laws on Induced Abortion, 1985-1997. International Family Planning Perspectives, 24 (2). Retrieved July 14, 2006.
• United Nations Population Division. (2002). Abortion Policies: A Global Review. Retrieved July 14, 2006.
• IPPF European Network. (2004). Abortion Legislation in Europe. Retrieved October 27, 2006.
• Center for Reproductive Rights. (2005). Abortion and the Law: Ten Years of Reform. Retrieved November 22, 2006.
• The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. (November 2006). Abortion Laws Around The World. Retrieved April 18, 2007.
• Europe's Abortion Laws. (February 12, 2007). BBC News. Retrieved February 12, 2007.
• United Nations Population Division. (2007). World Abortion Policies 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2007.

[edit] External links

• Ipas: Global Abortion News Update
• Center for Reproductive Rights: The World's Abortion Laws
• Pregnant Pause: Summary of Abortion Laws Around the World

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