Abortion Rights Across the Globe
Let’s Take a Look at What Other Countries are Doing
As America struggles with the overturning of Roe v Wade, I wanted to see what other countries were doing about abortion rights. Bear in mind that this article is a summary based on a quick search. There’s so much more to learn. I think it’s very enlightening to gain a broader perspective on contentious topics. Americans could learn a lot from other countries if we were interested.
So how do other countries deal with the abortion question?
One thing we can be sure of, whether abortion is prohibited or allowed, there have always been abortions. Abortion has been around since ancient history. The earliest written record was about 4000 years ago.
As of 2022, here’s a list of twenty-five countries that don’t allow abortion for any reason.
Andorra, Aruba, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Jamaica, Laos, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Palau, Palestine, Philippines, Republic of the Congo, San Marino, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Tonga
Soon, we might be able to add a few states from the United States to this list, but as a country, we aren’t part of this group — not yet. Although there is reason to believe that some new abortion bans in America could be more restrictive than laws were before Roe v Wade.
So what else do we need to look at besides the countries with total restrictions?
Here’s the list of possible circumstances that might allow exceptions for an abortion in different countries.
- On Request — Abortion for any reason is legal, though gestational limits still apply.
- Save Life — Abortion is legal when necessary to save the life of the woman.
- Physical Health — Abortion is legal when pregnancy risks significant (but non-fatal) injury to the woman.
- Mental Health — Abortion is legal when pregnancy puts the woman’s mental/emotional health at risk.
- Rape — Abortion is legal when the pregnancy is the result of rape.
- Incest — Abortion is legal when the pregnancy is the result of incest.
- Cognitively Disabled — Abortion is legal when the woman is mentally or cognitively disabled.
- Fetal Impairment — Abortion is legal when the fetus is known to have significant mental disabilities or physical malformations. As these can range from non-life-threatening conditions such as Down Syndrome to 100% fatal conditions such as anencephaly, more granular guidelines are often necessary.
- Socioeconomic — Abortion is legal when the woman is financially unable to support the child.
This is an interesting list.
I was surprised at how many countries have a very narrow view of abortion rights. They aren’t on the list of 25 who have outlawed it completely, but they’re very specific about how one qualifies for a legal abortion.
For example, Ireland only allows a legal abortion if carrying the baby full term endangers a woman’s life.
It’s worth noting that divorce was also illegal in Ireland until 1995, so the influence of the Catholic church is pretty apparent. I’ve spent a lot of time in Ireland. It’s one of my top five favorite countries in the world. Of course, when I’m there, I’m not in need of an abortion. That might change my feelings about Ireland significantly.
I’ve lived in Malta for 90 days.
That was in 2006, and at the time, divorce still wasn’t legal. It was finally legalized in 2011. Before the law was passed, Malta was only one of three countries in the world that still didn’t allow divorce. Malta is staunchly Catholic. They also hold a position on the list of 25 countries that don’t allow abortion for any reason. Once again, I enjoyed a marvelous three months in Malta. I wasn’t in need of a divorce or an abortion at the time. I might have felt differently about Malta if I was in need of either one.
Italy on the other hand has no restrictions on abortion even though the pope resides there. Go figure.
Finland and Iceland are two countries that surprised me.
They allow abortion but only if you can prove that it’s necessary to preserve the health of the mother or because of socioeconomic reasons. There’s some leeway in their requirements as socioeconomic reasons are wide-ranging, but nonetheless, I expected these two countries to offer abortion without restrictions of any kind. I think of them as more socially advanced, and so I assumed that they had long ago joined Spain, France, Australia, Denmark, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada, the United States, and other countries that have no restrictions whatsoever.
On the other hand, I was surprised that Iran allows abortion to save a mother’s life, but Iraq totally prohibits it. And North Korea has no restrictions but South Korea only allows an abortion to preserve the physical health of the mother.
Russia has no restrictions. As of 2010, Russia leads the world in the number of abortions per capita.
What about China? Well, China is very interested in the Supreme Court’s recent decision. When Roe was overturned it became the most tweeted topic of the day. China is currently rethinking their easy access to abortion as they confront a declining birth rate and an aging population.
On the 24th of June, Germany finally abolished an old Nazi law prohibiting doctors from providing information about abortion. I’ll freely admit that I’m a bit confused when it comes to Germany’s approach to legal abortion. Perhaps traces of their Nazi past linger. All cultures are a mix of the past, present and future. They have definitely struggled to arrive where they are today.
I encourage you to follow the link to the first article that I provided.
Take a look at each country on the list. It’s a bit of an eye opener to discover who supports a woman’s right to an abortion and who doesn’t. After Roe v Wade was passed, the United States was one of the countries with no restrictions. A span of time followed where access to birth control and safe abortions was supported by law.
Recently, of course, the Supreme Court overturned Roe. States will now be determining how to proceed.
Obviously, America isn’t the only country that is still struggling with the issue of abortion rights in the 21st century. Women’s rights have always been a volatile issue. That’s one thing we can count on. It seems no matter where women enter the world, their personal autonomy is scrutinized.
Often abortion rights are politicized, making abortion a divisive issue.
I’m fully aware that rights can be taken away. The United States once led the way when it came to abortion rights, but are now regressing. Frankly, this could happen anywhere. Women should never totally relax. They’re always under the microscope.
Religions have had great influence as well.
Even in countries like the United States where the separation of church and state is touted, the church has always had enormous influence on our government. The church defined American culture. We’ve never successfully separated the two. Divorce was not sanctioned by the church for decades and the government supported that view.
Women’s rights have definitely been interpreted through a theocratic lens as well.
It’s been a long, arduous fight for personal autonomy that started centuries ago and is still our chief battle today. We’re tired, but we’re not giving up. Women have been told over and over again that they are the weaker sex.
That might have been the very first lie we were fed as little girls.
Teresa Roberts is a retired educator, author, world traveler, and professional myth buster. You can find her boks on Amazon.
