The Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, removing women’s constitutional right to an abortion. As a result of the Supreme Court’s decision, abortion is now legal in every state in the United States.
Soon, 26 states will tighten their restrictions on abortion facilities, according to the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute.
When it came to abortions after three months of pregnancy, Roe V. Wade gave American women restricted access to an abortion. Abortion access has decreased in more than a dozen states, notwithstanding Roe v. Wade. Texans will be able to sue abortion facilities and doctors in 2021 for six-week abortions under new state law. In Mississippi, the case’s focal point, most abortions are illegal after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Abortion restrictions in the United States have been mirrored worldwide, where significant political or cultural shifts have coincided with pro-life movements. As part of the fight for women’s rights, proponents of abortion rights have enacted more liberal legislation in various countries.
Contents
Abortion Is Illegal, Severely Restricted, or Recently Legalised in Each of These Countries.
Abortion is illegal in 24 nations, according to reports from the Center for Reproductive Rights. Andorra and Malta, El Salvador and Honduras, Senegal and Egypt, the Philippines and Laos, and Asia’s Philippines and Laos are all included. In addition, 90% of women of reproductive age live in countries where abortion is illegal.
Activists and campaigners are loosening abortion regulations in many of these countries. For example, hundreds of women have been found guilty of “aggravated homicide” in El Salvador because of the strict standards that were introduced in 1998 as a result of hardline Catholic Church pressure. Abortion should be available in cases of rape, when the fetus is not viable, or when the woman’s life is in danger, according to the march of thousands of Salvadoran women in March.
Abortion Restrictions in Some Countries
When a woman’s health is jeopardized, more than 50 countries and territories allow abortions. (Some include physical health, while others include mental health.) Libya, Iran, Indonesia, Venezuela, and Nigeria round out the list. Others don’t consider rape, incest, or congenital disabilities.
The only exceptions to the ban on abortion in Brazil are in cases of rape, life-threatening situations for the mother, or anencephaly (missing brain or skull). An additional doctor and three other clinical experts may be required to consent under specific conditions. If a rape victim sought an abortion in August 2020, President Bolsonaro’s far-right government would mandate that doctors collect medical paperwork and submit the case to the authorities. Survivors of rape are allegedly being discouraged, according to Human Rights Watch.
On October 30, 2020, in Warsaw, Poland, a woman carried an EU flag during a demonstration against restrictive abortion laws. JPEG, CC BY-SA, 2.0
Abortion is not permitted in Poland unless in cases of rape, incest, or threat to the mother’s life. In 2019, 98 percent of abortions in Poland were carried out due to severe and irreparable fetus abnormalities, which were exempt from the prohibition. However, after a 22-week pregnant woman died of sepsis in Poland in November 2021, a wave of demonstrations broke out across the country. Her family claimed that the prohibition delayed life-saving care. This month, the first pro-choice campaigner to be tried under the new law went on trial for administering chemicals to induce miscarriage to a woman who was pregnant.
Abortion-Friendly Countries
According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, more than half of reproductive-age women in Japan, India, Canada, and the majority of Europe have access to safe abortion. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, the “trigger laws” that prohibit all abortions in thirteen states will take effect, some immediately and others over the next few hours. We can expect legislation from at least nine other states before long.
Abortion is illegal after 12 weeks of pregnancy in 72 nations, including France and Germany. Exclusions allow for repeated abortions even in these nations. However, if the fetus has Down’s syndrome, abortion can be performed up to the time of birth in the United Kingdom.
Reproductive rights have been curtailed in Poland and the United States, but progress is being made in other countries. Abortion was decriminalized in Colombia, Argentina, and Mexico, all historically Catholic countries in Latin America. In the past 18 months, A woman can legally give birth to a child in Colombia only if she is 24 weeks pregnant.
In response to these advancements, pro-choice movements have seen a “green wave” across the region. As a result, it may become the first Latin American country to allow abortion in its constitution later this year.
A May 2018 vote in Ireland sparked worldwide interest by allowing abortions up to 12 weeks and in some cases after that. The procedure was formerly performed in England on tens of thousands of Irish women annually before the reform.
ALSO READ:
Britney Spears’ Fdance Sam Asghari speaks out after they suffer pregnancy loss
Northern Ireland decriminalized abortion in October 2019. Although abortion is legal for up to 12 weeks in most cases and 24 weeks if the pregnancy threatens the mother’s health, the government has failed to set up enough state-run facilities for this procedure. Most of them come from charitable organizations.
Women who are more than 10 weeks pregnant must travel outside of the United Kingdom for the procedure. They can’t travel because of the pandemic, even though the government pays for it. In March, devolved nations were compelled to grant access to state-run services by Westminster MPs.
New Zealand will allow abortions up to 20 weeks after legalization in 2020. After that, an abortion could only be performed if the woman’s health was in danger and two doctors signed off on the procedure.
