Nigel Chiwaya is the Senior Editor, Data Viz for NBC News Digital. As of 2021, there are twenty-four countries in which abortion is illegal in any and all circumstances. By comparison, Americans who say abortion should be mostly or entirely illegal are older, with 54% ages 50 or older. And around the world, it has been much more common to expand access than restrict it. But it's tough to answer, says social demographer Jonathan Bearak at the Guttmacher Institute. Both institutions support abortion rights for people worldwide. An abortion is a medical procedure that ends a pregnancy. For the purpose of the map, countries include independent states, and where populations exceed one million, semi-autonomous regions, territories, and jurisdictions of special status. In Ireland, for example, the cost of an abortion is fully covered, the procedure can be performed by a general practitioner, and there is a government help line on how to get an abortion or reach a nurse during recovery. Updated April 21, 2023 at 7:51 p.m. EDT | Published April 19, 2023 at 1: . In the high-income countries of North America and Western and Northern Europe, where abortion is broadly legal and health systems are strong, the incidence of unsafe abortions is the lowest globally., Among developing regions, the proportion of abortions that were safe in Eastern Asia (including China) was similar to developed regions. The laws of the countries in this category do not permit abortion under any circumstances, including when the woman's life or health is at risk. 186 million (12%) of women of reproductive age live in countries that allow abortion on health grounds. 24, removing the constitutional right in the U.S. to terminate a pregnancy. This proved to be the case, with more than 20 states, particularly red states in the central and southern U.S., re-banning abortion within a week of the Dobbs decision. Overview. The satellite news network Al Jazeera says that a correspondent for one of its channels held in Egypt since 2019 has been released after nearly four years in pre-trial detention. In March, U.K. lawmakers in Westminster began a legal process to compel their counterparts in the devolved nation to provide adequate state-run access. Early in the leaked draft opinion, Justice Samuel Alito, the author, cited the fact that the United States is unusual in allowing abortion on request after 20 weeks. France and Colombia recently joined that group. But many of these changes have been truly transformative, overturning absolute bans on abortion in favor of womens reproductive autonomy. If the leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade became final, the United States would join a very small group of countries that have rolled back abortion rights in recent years. Trans and nonbinary people have undergone abortions as well. Ines Eisele. Activists in South America and Africa have increasingly helped women find and use the drug, outside the official health system. Studies have shown that women denied access to abortion are markedly more likely to descend into poverty as a result of the added financial burden of caring for an additional child. And so the restrictions in Texas will likely lead to lower rates of abortion in the short-term. The WHO hasissued technical guidancefor states on the need to identify and remove such barriers. Even in states with broader access to legal abortion, pregnant individuals can still face multiple restrictions on and barriers to access to services such as cost, biased counselling, mandatory waiting periods. It helps in consumer profiling for online advertising. Access to safe and affordable services in government hospitals can also be limited by a scarcity of health professionals that are trained to provide these legal abortions or have limited knowledge about abortion law, said Siri Suh, a medical sociologist at Brandeis University who has researched reproductive health in Africa. The procedure has been banned without exception since 1998. There are more than 20 countries in the world where abortion is completely prohibited, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, a global legal advocacy group. In California, abortion access is fairly similar to abortion access in the United Kingdom, whereas in Texas right now, abortion access is really among the most restrictive in the world, said Caitlin Gerdts, a vice president at Ibis Reproductive Health, a research group. In countries where abortion is broadly legal, use of contraception is quite high, Bearak and his team found. Abortion is a crime in El Salvador, which has some of the worlds most restrictive laws. Do you live in the United States? Violators could be punished with a five-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine. It outlaws almost all abortionsand only allows people to get abortions in cases of rape . Mikhail Klimentov. The cookie is used for storing the start and end of the user session for nielsen statistics. Anti-abortion protesters during the annual March for Life in Washington on Friday. Firstly, the denial of medical services, including reproductive health services that only certain individuals need is a form of discrimination. In Germany, for example, abortion is permitted on request until 12 weeks, and until 22 weeks if, in the womans view, it is necessary for her physical or mental health or for present or future living conditions. IE 11 is not supported. This cookie is used to track the behavior of a user within the current session. Nearly every country in which abortion is legal has what is known as a gestational limit, which means a fetus or embryo can be aborted early in the pregnancy, but cannot be aborted once it reaches a certain stage of development. That makes the United States one of just over a dozen countries that allow abortions for any reason beyond 15 weeks of pregnancy, the threshold in the Mississippi law that the Supreme Court considered in its private vote to overturn Roe. These countries often consider a womans actual or reasonably foreseeable environment and her social or economic circumstances in considering the potential impact of pregnancy and childbearing. An example of this situation is an ectopic pregnancy, in which the embryo fails to implant in the uterus and instead implants in a different organ (fallopian tubes, ovaries) or just outside the uterus. In 37 countries, abortion is illegal unless it saves the mother's life. Russia actually made abortion legal for any reason in 1920, making it the first country to do so. Mexicos Supreme Court unanimously ruled in September to decriminalize abortion. Magazines, Digital Other doctors feel pressure from colleagues not to provide abortions, Professor Mishtal and colleagues found. The WHO has noted that one of the first steps toward avoiding maternal deaths and injuries is for states to ensure that people have access to sex education, are able to use effective contraception, have safe and legal abortion, and are given timely care for complications. As many as 16 countries may restrict abortion altogether, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. So, Bearak says, in the end, highly restrictive abortion laws don't correlate with a lower abortion rate. Because of these factors and more, abortion laws vary significantly between nations, as well as between various U.S. states. The mere perception that abortion is unlawful or immoral leads to the stigmatization of women and girls by health care staff, family members, and the judiciary, among others. The super fun life simulators by Candywriter. The infographic below illustrates the change in countries abortion laws over the past 25 years, using the color rubric from the World Abortion Laws Map. In a post-Roe world, states might seek to make such assistance, or the use of such pills, subject to punishment. They include women and girls on low income, refugees and migrants, adolescents, lesbian, bisexual cisgender women and girls, transgender or gender non-conforming individuals, minority or Indigenous women. There's this element of chance," Jurez says a chance that the abortion could end up unsafe. Restricting access to abortions does not reduce the number of abortions. In February, France increased the threshold to 16 weeks from 14. These include Libya, Iran, Indonesia, Venezuela and Nigeria. More than 50 countries and regions allow abortions, but only on grounds of preserving a womans health. Read More: The Enormous Consequences of Overturning Roe v. Wade. The most common gestational limit for countries in this category is 12 weeks. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said something similar during Supreme Court hearings on the Mississippi case in December. Claire Malone, a young woman from Ireland, who already had two children, shared her harrowing testimony with Amnesty International Ireland of how her right to health was undermined by not being able to access an abortion due to the countrys strict abortion laws. By Miriam Berger. . Most abortions that take place in Western and Northern Europe and North America are safe. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Induced abortion is common in the United States and worldwide. The changes have inspired other pro-choice movements in the regiondubbed the green wave for the colors worn by campaigners. In 1973, Roe v. Wade gave women in the U.S. an absolute right to an abortion in the first three months of pregnancy, and limited rights beyond then. When people face barriers to obtaining safe abortions, they often resort to unsafe procedures, according to the WHO, and unsafe abortions are more common in countries with restrictive laws. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin. When abortions are performed in accordance with WHO guidelines and standards, the risk of severe complications or death is negligible. 386 million (24%) of women of reproductive age live in countries that allow abortion on broad social or economic grounds. My doctors said they couldnt offer a termination as my life wasnt at risk right now, and that was it. But I felt like if I waited until my health got so bad that I could die, then it would be too late by then anyway. The most common threshold is 12 weeks. Forcing someone to carry on an unwanted pregnancy, or forcing them to seek out an unsafe abortion, is a violation of their human rights, including the rights to privacy and bodily autonomy. A major way that women "adapt" is to seek abortion in nearby places, where the procedure is legal, or to seek illegal abortions, says Fatima Jurez, who's a demographer at El Colegio de Mxico in Mexico City. There are countries, however, where abortion remains heavily restricted. There is some indication that new abortion bans will be more restrictive and punitive than those from the pre-RvW era. The database aims to promote greater transparency of abortion laws and policies, as well as to improve countries accountability for the protection of women and girls health and human rights. Through the lens of comparative national law, Mississippis abortion regime is more permissive than in most countries, wrote 141 international legal scholars in a brief to the Supreme Court in support of Mississippi. Rape Abortion is legal when the pregnancy is the result of rape. Six out of 10 of all unintended pregnancies end in an induced abortion. The hardline laws in El Salvador, which were introduced in 1998 after campaigning from conservative sectors of the Catholic Church, have led to dozens of women being found guilty of aggravated homicide, even in cases of miscarriage. "In these countries, there are between 31 and 51 abortions annually per 1,000 women, on average," Bearak says. The country reclaimed its spot atop the list after a one-year hiatus, while the United States moved up again in the annual rankings. Jurez's research focuses on the reproductive health of young people. In other countries, it is illegal unless used to save the mother's life or preserve her health during pregnancy. In Latin America, only 1 in 4 abortions were safe, though the majority were categorized as less safe, as it is increasingly common for women in the region to obtain and self-administer medicines like misoprostol outside of formal health systems. But when governments restrict access to abortions, people are compelled to resort to clandestine, unsafe abortions, particularly those who cannot afford to travel or seek private care. When women and girls cannot access effective contraception and safe abortion services, there are serious consequences for their own health and that of their families. Abortion in Andorra is illegal in all cases - even when the mother's life is in danger. Worldwide, an estimated 1 in 4 pregnancies end in an abortion every year. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion rights Jun. Abortion rates are lower where people, including adolescents have information about and can access modern contraceptive methods and where comprehensive sexuality education is available and there is access to safe and legal abortion on broad grounds. As a result, state abortion laws vary more widely than ever. El Salvador previously allowed abortion in some cases, but in 1998, the procedure was totally prohibited in the Central American country. Clinics actually have to have the medicines, they have to train practitioners and they actually have to make the services available. That means some areas of the U.S. could wind up with more restrictive laws on abortion than other developed countries, including neighboring Canada and Mexico. In some countries (particularly in Asia, where male children tend to be valued more than female children) gender-based abortion is legal. "But exactly how that's going to play out in the long run is yet to be seen. Instead, those laws correlate with more unintended pregnancies, which ultimately leads to an abortion rate comparable to what's observed in countries where the procedure is accessible. 1y. 970 million women, representing 59% of women of reproductive age, live in countries that broadly allow abortion. Under current law, abortions are legal in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and after that in the case of rape . In sub-Saharan Africa, most countries ban abortion, but even those that say they allow it, like South Africa, have limited access. Many African countries have restrictive laws on abortion, allowing the procedure only if a mothers life is threatened, like in Nigeria, or in the cases of rape, incest or fetal defects, as in Botswana and Zimbabwe. Prior to that, two doctors were required to approve an abortionand they would only do so if there was a serious danger to the womans health. Andorra. Ireland voted in 2018 to remove an abortion ban from its constitution. Women who do not have access to a legal abortion frequently turn to illegal or "homemade" abortion options, which are typically much riskier, more dangerous, and less effective than legal options conducted by professional doctors in a clinical setting would be. Where the change in law added enumerated grounds for abortion, these are reflected through lettered icons. Without Roe, It Would Be, Too. It's a step, but it's not only about the law," Ganatra adds. 12 more countries are counted. You have reached your limit of free articles. In South-Central Asia, however, less than 1 in 2 abortions were safe. Like many other common medical procedures, abortion is very safe when done in accordance with recommended medical guidelines and that is important to bear in mind, says Dr Gilda Sedgh, co-author of the study and principal research scientist, Guttmacher Institute. That's because these countries tend to be richer and have strong health-care systems. This regulation had not appeared in Texas' pre-RvW abortion laws. Just three other countries have done so since 1994: Poland, El Salvador and Nicaragua, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which fights abortion restrictions in American courts and tracks international laws. The United States is also unusual in having such a wide range of laws by state, a feature that will be magnified if Roe is overturned. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". "Just because the law changes and abortion is allowed, it doesn't automatically mean that unsafe abortion goes away. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research group, 26 of Americas 50 states are expected move immediately to crack down on clinics providing abortions. The cookie is set by CloudFare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, close to 1 billion women in countries like India, Japan, most of Europe, Canada, and the US currently have access to safe abortions. However, most countries have adopted a more nuanced approach. In other countries, abortion rights activists have succeeded in pushing for less restrictive laws as part of a broader fight for womens rights. Almost one-third (31%) of abortions were less safe, meaning they were either performed by a trained provider using an unsafe or outdated method such as sharp curettage, or by an untrained person albeit using a safe method like misoprostol, a drug that can be used for many medical purposes, including to induce an abortion. I know they are bound by the law. In many circumstances, those who have no choice but to resort to unsafe abortions also risk prosecution and punishment, including imprisonment, and can face cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and discrimination in, and exclusion from, vital post-abortion health care. Ireland did so in 2018, followed by tiny San Marino in a voter referendum last fall. In Germany, abortion has technically been illegal for years and punishable by up to three years in prison under Section 218 of the criminal code, first adopted in 1872. A law passed 150 years ago that banned the mailing of contraceptives, lewd materials and drugs that induce abortions could provide a pathway for effectively banning abortion nationwide -- even in . Despite the trend towards reforming laws to prevent deaths and injuries, some countries, includingNicaraguaandEl Salvador, maintain draconian and discriminatory laws that still ban abortion in virtually all circumstances. Legal or not, abortions can, will, and do take place. The most common gestational limit for countries in this category is 12 weeks. In March, thousands of Salvadoran women marched to demand that the ban be eased to allow abortions in cases of rape, when the fetus is not viable, or if the womans life is at risk. Mental Health Abortion is legal when pregnancy puts the woman's mental/emotional health at risk. Abortions are legal in Canada and require no legally compelling reason (such as rape or health risks) so long as they take place before the gestational limit, which ranges from 12 weeks to "24 weeks + 6 days" depending upon province and territory. Although a broad ban was reinstated in 1936, that ban was lifted in 1955 and abortion access has remained open ever since. The U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade puts the United States in an anomalous position globally. In 2020, New Zealand decriminalized abortion and extended the legal period to 20 weeks of pregnancy. The World Abortion Laws Map includes supplementary tools and resources to assist advocates and policymakers in advancing abortion reform. The team focused on three states with varying levels of restriction, from few restrictions in Mexico state to many restrictions in Queretaro state. "But if you look at countries where abortions are most restricted then only 1 out of 4 abortions happens safely.". According to the Guttmacher Institute, a US-based reproductive health non-profit, the abortion rate is 37 per 1,000 people in countries that prohibit abortion altogether or allow it only in instances to save a womans life, and 34 per 1,000 people in countries that broadly allow for abortion, a difference that is not statistically significant. Criminalisation and restrictive laws on abortion prevent health-care providers from doing their job properly and from providing the best care options for their patients, in line with good medical practice and their professional ethical responsibilities. Ministerial guidelines are not utilized in categorizing the legal status of abortion on the map unless they have the force of law. One strong piece of evidence is the large number of women who travel to less restrictive countries in Europe for later abortions, Professor Mishtal said. The following eight countries are among the nations with some of the worlds most restrictive abortion laws, as confirmed by U.S. News. It takes time to save money for the procedure or to arrange transportation, child care and time off work to travel to a clinic if there is not one nearby. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. "Changing the law [to allow abortions] is necessary for reducing the rate of unsafe abortions. The laws of the countries in this category permit abortion on the basis of health or therapeutic grounds. Which language would you like to use this site in? "Because these estimates are based on models, they come with uncertainty," he explains. A dozen or so countries besides the United States allow abortion without any restrictions or conditions after 15 weeks, the cutoff in question in the Mississippi case. More than a year later in October 2019 neighboring Northern Ireland became the last nation in the U.K. to decriminalize abortion. Countries that have recently liberalized abortion laws include Ireland, which had mostly banned abortion but made it legal on request until 12 weeks in 2018, and South Korea, which decriminalized it. Where laws specify that gestational age limits are calculated from the date of conception, these limits have been extended by two weeks. Some of these countries, however, allow abortion after the cutoff if the woman has a valid reason, and law scholars say that in some of them, abortion until fetal viability is as accessible as it is in the United States under Roe. Malta is the only EU member state to ban abortion with no exceptions. In some countries (particularly in Asia, where male children tend to be valued more than female children) gender-based abortion is legal. Abortion involves both the potential mother's right to bodily autonomy (and health) and the unborn child's right to lifetwo inalienable rights that abortion sets against one another. Abortion is prohibited altogether in 24 countries. Any states that ban or severely limit abortion at all stages of pregnancy as roughly half are expected to, if Roe is overturned would join a minority of countries, 66 in all, that prohibit it. Legal restrictions on abortion do not result in fewer abortions, instead they compel women to risk their lives and health by seeking out unsafe abortion care. "It's a human rights issue," Graham said on CNN's "State of the Union." "At 15 weeks you have a developed heart and lungs, and to dismember a child at 15 weeks is a painful experience. Despite the procedure now being legal on request up until 12 weeks in most cases, and up to 24 weeks if the pregnancy is a threat to the mothers health, the country has yet to establish sufficient state-run abortion services. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. This is typically 12 weeks, but may be as low as 6 weeks or as high as 24 weeks. The mother's health factors into the equation as well. Regardless of the laws surrounding abortion, rates are similar in countries where abortion is restricted and those where the procedure is largely legal, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. A woman holds a European Union flag at a protest against the Constitutional Court ruling on tightening abortion laws on Oct. 30, 2020 in Warsaw, Poland. This cookie is set by Hotjar. In Mexico City, abortion was decriminalized in 2007. Center for Reproductive Rights (1992-2022). 41 countries fall within this category. Groups in Europe provide online ordering of the pills, including to women in the United States, from pharmacies outside the country. In a study published in 2019, Jurez and her colleagues interviewed women across Mexico about their experiences having abortions. Women who consent to an abortion or induce one themselves could be jailed for up to two-and-a-half years. This cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website. Over the past several decades, monumental gains have been made in securing womens right to abortion, with nearly 50 countries liberalizing their abortion laws. Amnesty International believes that everyone should be free to exercise their bodily autonomy and make their own decisions about their reproductive lives including when and if they have children. Over the last25 years, more than50 countrieshave changed their laws to allow for greater access to abortion, at times recognizing the vital role that access to safe abortion plays in protecting womens lives and health. A large majority of people who say abortion should be illegal in . It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting. 24 overturning of the Roe v. Wade ruling in the U.S. means that thirteen states that have enacted trigger laws, designed to ban all or nearly all abortions will go into effect, some immediately, others over the coming hours. The procedure is allowed until up to the 12th week of pregnancy. And regardless of whether abortion is legal or not, people still require and regularly access abortion services. In the past 18 months, Colombia, Argentina, and Mexicotraditionally conservative Catholic countries in Latin Americadecriminalized abortions following waves of protests and campaigning by womens rights and pro-choice groups. Around 45% of all abortions are unsafe, of which 97% take place in developing countries. By contrast, in countries where abortions are heavily restricted, use of contraception tends to be low, his team found. The majority of those that currently exist are provided by charities. It is safe when carried out using a method recommended by WHO, appropriate to the pregnancy duration and by someone with the necessary skills. In places where abortions are illegal, she says, it can be difficult to obtain a safe abortion that is, an abortion where the risk of severe complications is extremely low.