prohibited altogether to save the woman’s life the …
TRANSCRIPT
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
SAINT LUCIA
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
PUERTORICO
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
DOMINICA
BAHAMAS
JAMAICA
BARBADOS
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
CURAÇAOGRENADA
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
SURINAMEGUYANA
PANAMA
HAITI
NICARAGUA
COSTA RICA
HONDURAS
GUATEMALA
CUBA
UNITED STATES
CANADA
MEXICO
EL SALVADOR
BELIZE
CHILE
ARGENTINA
URUGUAY
BOLIVIA
PERU BRAZIL
PARAGUAY
COLOMBIA
VENEZUELA
ECUADOR
MALTA
ANDORRA
SANMARINO
ITALY
GREECE
N. MACEDONIA
MONTENEGRO
BOSNIAHERZ.
CROATIA
LIECHTENSTEIN SLOVAK REP.
HUNGARY
ROMANIA
MOLDOVA
UKRAINE
BELARUS
BULGARIA
SERBIA
SLOVENIA
AUSTRIA
CZECHREPUBLIC
SWITZERLAND
LUXEMBOURG
KOSOVO
ALBANIA
FRANCE
SPAIN
GREATBRITAIN
FINLAND
ESTONIA
LATVIA
LITHUANIA
POLAND
SWEDEN
DENMARK
ICELAND
GREENLAND
NORTHERN IRELAND
NETHERLANDS
BELGIUM
GERMANY
NORWAY
IRELAND
PORTUGAL
MONACO
ANGOLA
MADAGASCAR
DEM. REP. OF CONGO
CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE)
CENTRALAFRICANREP.
SOUTHSUDAN
UGANDA
SUDAN
GABON
GUINEA-BISSAU
FRENCH GUIANA
GAMBIA
COMOROS
SEYCHELLES
MALDIVES
SRI LANKA
MAURITIUS
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
SENEGAL
MAURITANIA
CAPE VERDE
EGYPTLIBYA
TUNISIA
ALGERIA
MOROCCO
WESTSAHARA
BOTSWANA
SOUTH AFRICA
NAMIBIA
BURKINAFASO
GHANA
GUINEA
LIBERIA
SIERRA LEONE
BURUNDI
RWANDA
CAMEROON
DJIBOUTI
CHAD
NIGER
NIGERIA
ERITREA
ETHIOPIA
SOMALIA
KENYA
MALAWI
MOZAMBIQUE
TANZANIA
ZAMBIA
ZIMBABWE
MALI
LESOTHO
ESWATINI
BENIN
TOGOTOGO
IRAQ
SYRIA
ISRAEL
CYPRUS
WEST BANK/GAZA STRIPLEBANON
JORDAN
ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN
GEORGIA
TURKEY
BAHRAIN
QATAR
SAUDI ARABIA
UAE
AFGHANISTAN
PAKISTAN
OMAN
YEMEN
KAZAKHSTAN
UZBEKISTAN
TURKMENISTAN
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
MONGOLIA
KYRGYZSTAN
INDIA
JAPAN
IRAN
KUWAIT
LAOS
BHUTANNEPAL
BANGLADESH
MYANMAR
CAMBODIA
THAILAND
VIETNAM
CHINA
DEM. PEOPLE’SREP. OF KOREA
REP. OFKOREA
TAIWAN
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
SINGAPORE
PHILIPPINES
MARSHALL ISLANDS
KIRIBATI
SOLOMON ISLANDS
TIMOR LESTE
INDONESIA
PAPUA NEWGUINEA
AUSTRALIA
NEW ZEALAND
NAURU
TONGA
FIJI
TUVALU SAMOA
VANUATU
MICRONESIA
PALAU
KIRIBATI
HONG KONG
ARUBA
MALAYSIA
TAJIKISTAN
CÔTED’IVOIRE
NEW CALEDONIA
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.
The laws of the countries in this category permit abortion when the woman’s life is at risk.
The laws of countries in this category permit abortion on the basis of health or therapeutic grounds. Countries in bold explicitly permit abortion to preserve the woman’s mental health. Countries with a permit abortion only when the woman's physical health is at risk. Countries with a † are based on Rex v. Bourne. The World Health Organization advises that countries permitting abortion on health grounds should interpret “health” to mean “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or in�rmity.”
These laws are generally interpreted liberally to permit abortion under a broad range of circumstances. These countries often take into account a woman's actual or reasonably foreseeable environment and her social or economic circumstances in considering the potential impact of pregnancy and childbearing.
AlgeriaAngola: R, I, F, PABahamasBenin: R, I, FBolivia: R, IBotswana: R, I, FBurkina Faso: R, I, FBurundiCameroon: RCentral African Rep.: R, I, F, +Chad: R, I, FColombia: R, I, FComorosCosta RicaDem. Rep. of Congo: R, I, FDjiboutiEcuador: +Equatorial Guinea: SA, PAEritrea: R, I, +Eswatini (formerly Swaziland):
R, I, FGhana: R, I, F, +
GrenadaGuinea: R, I, FIsrael: R, I, F, +JordanKenyaKuwait: F, SA, PALesotho: R, I, FLiberia: R, I, FLiechtenstein: R, PA, +MalaysiaMauritius: R, I, F, PAMonaco: R, I, F, Morocco: SANamibia: R, I, FNauru: R, I, F, +Niger: FPakistanPeruPoland: R, I, PAQatar: FRep. of Korea: R, I, SA, +Saint Kitts & Nevis: †
Saint Lucia: R, ISamoaSaudi Arabia: SA, PASeychelles: R, I, F, +Togo: R, I, FTrinidad & Tobago: †VanuatuZimbabwe: R, I, F,
AfghanistanAntigua & Barbuda Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan: R, I, + Brazil: R, + Brunei Darussalam Chile: R, F Côte d’Ivoire: R DominicaGabon: R, I, F, +Gambia: FGuatemalaIndonesia: R, F, SAIran: FKiribati Lebanon Libya Malawi Mali: R, I Marshall Islands: ?Mexico: R, F, Micronesia: ?, MyanmarNigeria OmanPanama: R, F, PA Papua New Guinea ParaguaySolomon Islands
Somalia South SudanSri Lanka Sudan: R Syria: SA, PA Tanzania Timor-Leste: PATuvalu Uganda United Arab Emirates (UAE): F, SA,
PAVenezuela Yemen: SA
Andorra ArubaCongo (Brazzaville) CuraçaoDominican Republic Egypt El SalvadorHaiti Honduras IraqJamaica Laos Madagascar MaltaMauritania NicaraguaPalau: ? PhilippinesSan Marino SenegalSierra Leone Suriname Tonga West Bank & Gaza Strip
Barbados: R, I, F, PA Belize: FEthiopia: R, I, F, +Fiji: R, I, F, PA Finland: R, F, + Great Britain: F Hong Kong: R, I, FIndia: R, F, PA Japan: R, SARwanda: R, I, F, +Saint Vincent & Grenadines: R, I, F Taiwan: R, I, F, SA, PA Zambia: F
Categories of Abortion Laws from Most to Least RestrictiveCountries in each subsequent category recognize the grounds speci�ed in the preceding category. Additional enumerated grounds are indicated following the country name.
The World’sAbortion Laws
All Countries in Category V have gestational limits of 12 weeks unless otherwise indicated.
Albania: PA ArgentinaW14 Armenia: PAAustralia: AustriaD90 Azerbaijan Belarus BelgiumW14 Bosnia-Herzegovina: PA Bulgaria CambodiaW14: PA Canada° Cape Verde China°: SXCroatiaW10: PA Cuba: PA CyprusCzech Rep.: PA Dem. People’s Rep. of Korea° Denmark: PA Estonia FranceW14
French GuianaGeorgia: PA GermanyW14
Greece: PA Guinea-Bissauº GuyanaW8 Hungary IcelandW22
IrelandItalyD90 Kazakhstan KosovoW10: PA, SX Kyrgyzstan Latvia: PA Lithuania: PA LuxembourgW14
MaldivesD120
Moldova: PA MongoliaD90
Montenegro: PA, SXMozambiqueNepal: SX Netherlands∞New CaledoniaNew ZealandW20
Northern IrelandNorway: PA PortugalW10: PA
Puerto Rico∞ Republic of North
Macedonia (formerly Macedonia): PA
RomaniaW14
Russian Fed. Sao Tome & PrincipeSerbia: PA SingaporeW24
Slovak Rep.: PA Slovenia: PA South Africa SpainW14: PA SwedenW18
Switzerland TajikistanThailand TunisiaD90 TurkeyW10: SA, PA Turkmenistan UkraineUnited States∞: PA, Uruguay: PAUzbekistan Vietnam°
W8 Gestational limit of 8 weeksW10 Gestational limit of 10 weeksW14 Gestational limit of 14 weeksW18 Gestational limit of 18 weeksW22 Gestational limit of 22 weeks
How many women of reproductive age live in countries under each category?
R Abortion permitted in cases of rape I Abortion permitted in cases of incest F Abortion permitted in cases of fetal impairment SA Spousal authorization required PA Parental authorization/noti�cation required + Abortion permitted on additional enumerated grounds relating to
such factors as the woman’s age or capacity to care for a childSX Sex-selective abortion prohibited Legislation explicitly permits abortion only to protect the physical
health of the woman? Law unclear Federal system in which abortion law is determined at state level;
classi�cation re�ects legal status of abortion for largest group of people
Category I. Prohibited Altogether Category II. To Save the Woman’s Life Category III. To Preserve Health Category IV. Socioeconomic Grounds Category V. On Request (Gestational Limits Vary)23 COUNTRIES 39 COUNTRIES 63 COUNTRIES 14 COUNTRIES 64 COUNTRIESCategory I. Prohibited Altogether Category II. To Save the Woman’s Life Category III. To Preserve Health Category IV. Socioeconomic Grounds Category V. On Request (Gestational Limits Vary)
Indicators24 COUNTRIES 42 COUNTRIES 51 COUNTRIES 13 COUNTRIES 73 COUNTRIES
PROHIBITED ALTOGETHER
TO SAVE THE WOMAN’S LIFE
TO PRESERVE HEALTH
BROAD SOCIAL OR ECONOMIC GROUNDS
UNKNOWN
ON REQUEST (GESTATIONAL LIMITS VARY)
I
II
III
IV
V
W24 Gestational limit of 24 weeksD90 Gestational limit of 90 days or three monthsD120 Gestational limit of 120 days∞ Law does not limit pre-viability abortionº Law does not indicate gestational limit; regulatory mechanisms vary
I 90 MILLION5%
III211 MILLION
13%II
360 MILLION22%
386 MILLION23%
IVWOMEN OFREPRODUCTIVE AGE
WORLDWIDE
V616 MLLION
37%
The Center for Reproductive Rights is a nonpro�t legal advocacy organization dedicated to promoting and defending women’s reproductive rights worldwide.
199 Water St, Floor 22New York, NY 10038 reproductiverights.org
© Center for Reproductive Rights
Current as of February 23, 2021Map updated in real time at worldabortionlaws.org