Abortion by country

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Abortion in Ireland

The subject of abortion has had a controversial history in Ireland, and remains a controversial subject today. Constitutional Issues: Ireland & the Abortion Debate At independence, the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act remained in force, maintaining all abortions to be illegal and subject to punishment. In response to the 1967 legalisation of abortion in Britain and the subsequent rise in the numbers of Irish women travelling to Britain each year to obtain an abortion, anti-abortion groups in Ireland began to press for an explicit amendment to the Irish constitution banning abortion...

Abortion in the United Kingdom

Abortion has been legal in England, Scotland and Wales since 1967. At the time, the legislation was one of the most liberal in Europe...

Abortion in Brazil

Abortion is currently illegal in Brazil except under the following two circumstances: the life of the mother is in danger, or the pregnancy is the result of rape. Otherwise, the punishment for a woman to perform an abortion on herself or consenting to an abortion is one to three years imprisonment. If the abortion causes any harm to the woman the punishment increases by one third...

Abortion in Germany

The history of abortion in Germany is rather complicated. Abortions were strictly illegal in Nazi Germany for favored groups, but were at times forced upon members of parts of society that were considered undesirable. After World War II, abortion remained illegal in both East Germany and West Germany. East Germany legalized abortion on demand up to 12 weeks of pregnancy in 1972...

Abortion in France

Abortion has been legal in France since the passage of the Veil Act in 1975. Abortion was criminalized with the imposition of the Napoleonic Code. During the Nazi occupation during World War II, the punishments were extended to their greatest stringency, with abortion a capital offense. The last execution took place in 1942. Following the war, the death penalty for abortion was abolished, and special courts were set up to deal with abortion cases. Illegal abortion rates remained fairly high during the post-war period, and increasing numbers of..

Abortion in Sweden

The first relevant legislation accepting Abortion in Sweden was the Abortion Act of 1938. This stated that abortion can be legally performed if there are 1) medical 2) humanitarian or 3) eugenical ground for an abortion. That is, if the pregnancy constitutes a serious threat to the mothers life, if she was raped, or if there is a considerable chance that any serious disease might be inherited by the child a mother can request an abortion. The law was later augumented in 1946 (socio-medical grounds) and 1963 (risk of serious foetal damage). As..

Abortion in Australia

Abortion in Australia remains a subject of state law rather than national law, unlike any other country (with the possible exception of the United States). The grounds on which abortion is permitted vary from state to state. In every state, abortion is legal to protect the life and health of the mother - though life and health are defined differently in the different states...

Abortion in the Netherlands

Abortion was deemed illegal in the Netherlands under the Penal Code of 1886. Convictions were all but precluded, however, by a requirement that the prosecution prove that the fetus had been alive until the abortion. The Morality Acts of 1911 closed this loophole and strictly barred all abortions except when performed to save the life of the mother...

Abortion in Finland

Abortion Abortions were illegal in Finland until 1950, when the Parliament of Finland Eduskunta decriminalized abortions when performed to preserve the physical or mental health of the mother, in cases where it could be determined if the child would be handicapped, or if the pregnancy resulted from rape. The laws on abortion were further legalized in 1970, allowing abortions for socio-economic reasons, if the mother was younger than 17 or older than 40, if the mother had already had four children, or if, owing to disease or mental disturbance,..

Abortion in New Zealand

Abortion in New Zealand is currently legal when the pregnancy is for under 20 weeks gestation, or over 20 weeks in certain circumstances where it would harm the mother. Abortions after 12 weeks gestation must be performed in a licensed institution, generally understood to be a hospital. Abortions must be approved by two doctors - one of whom must be a gynaecologist or obstetrician - and may be subject to counseling...