Abortion Law

Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request, to regulation or restrictions of various kinds, to outright prohibition in all circumstances. Many countries and territories that allow abortion have gestational limits for the procedure depending on the reason; with the majority being up to 12 weeks for abortion on request, up to 24 weeks for rape, incest, or socioeconomic reasons, and more for fetal impairment or risk to the woman's health or life. As of 2022, countries that legally allow abortion on request or for socioeconomic reasons comprise about 60% of the world's population. In 2024, France became the first country to explicitly protect abortion rights in its constitution.

Abortion continues to be a controversial subject in many societies on religious, moral, ethical, practical, and political grounds. Though it has been banned and otherwise limited by law in many jurisdictions, abortions continue to be common in many areas, even where they are illegal. According to a 2007 study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization, abortion rates are similar in countries where the procedure is legal and in countries where it is not, due to unavailability of modern contraceptives in areas where abortion is illegal. Also according to the study, the number of abortions worldwide is declining due to increased access to contraception.

Abortion has existed since ancient times, with natural abortifacients being found amongst a wide variety of tribal people and in most written sources. The earliest known records of abortion techniques and general reproductive regulation date as far back as 2700 BC in China, and 1550 BC in Egypt. Early texts contain little mention of abortion or abortion law. When it does appear, it is entailed in concerns about male property rights, preservation of social order, and the duty to produce fit citizens for the state or community. The harshest penalties were generally reserved for a woman who procured an abortion against her husband's wishes, and for slaves who produced abortion in a woman of high status. Religious texts often contained severe condemnations of abortion, recommending penance but seldom enforcing secular punishment. As a matter of common law in England and the United States, abortion was illegal anytime after quickening—when the movements of the fetus could first be felt by the woman. Under the born alive rule, the fetus was not considered a "reasonable being" in rerum natura; and abortion was not treated as murder in English law.

In the 19th century, many Western countries began to codify abortion laws or place further restrictions on the practice. Anti-abortion movements were led by a combination of groups opposed to abortion on moral grounds, and by medical professionals who were concerned about the danger presented by the procedure and the regular involvement of non-medical personnel in performing abortions. Nevertheless, it became clear that illegal abortions continued to take place in large numbers even where abortions were rigorously restricted. It was difficult to obtain sufficient evidence to prosecute the women and abortion doctors, and judges and juries were often reluctant to convict. For example, Henry Morgentaler, a Canadian pro-choice advocate, was never convicted by a jury. He was acquitted by a jury in the 1973 court case, but the acquittal was overturned by five judges on the Quebec Court of Appeal in 1974. He went to prison, appealed, and was again acquitted. In total, he served 10 months, suffering a heart attack while in solitary confinement. Many were also outraged at the invasion of privacy and the medical problems resulting from abortions taking place illegally in medically dangerous circumstances. Political movements soon coalesced around the legalization of abortion and liberalization of existing laws.

By the first half of the 20th century, many countries had begun to liberalize abortion laws, at least when performed to protect the woman's life and in some cases on the woman's request. Under Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet Union became the first modern state in legalizing abortions on request—the law was first introduced in the Russian SFSR in 1920, in the Ukrainian SSR in July 1921, and then in the whole country. The Bolsheviks saw abortion as a social evil created by the capitalist system, which left women without the economic means to raise children, forcing them to perform abortions. The Soviet state initially preserved the tsarist ban on abortion, which treated the practice as premeditated murder. However, abortion had been practiced by Russian women for decades and its incidence skyrocketed further as a result of the Russian Civil War, which had left the country economically devastated and made it extremely difficult for many people to have children. The Soviet state recognized that banning abortion would not stop the practice because women would continue using the services of private abortionists. In rural areas, these were often old women who had no medical training, which made their services very dangerous to women's health. In November 1920, the Soviet government legalized abortion in state hospitals. The state considered abortion as a temporary necessary evil, which would disappear in the future communist society, which would be able to provide for all the children conceived.^{[page needed]} In 1936, Joseph Stalin placed prohibitions on abortions, which restricted them to medically recommended cases only, in order to increase population growth after the enormous loss of life in World War I and the Russian Civil War. In the 1930s, several countries (Poland, Turkey, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Mexico) legalized abortion in some special cases (pregnancy from rape, threat to mother's health, fetal malformation). In Japan, abortion was legalized in 1948 by the Eugenic Protection Law, amended in May 1949 to allow abortions for economic reasons. Abortion was legalized in 1952 in Yugoslavia (on a limited basis^[which?]), and again in 1955 in the Soviet Union on request. Some Soviet allies (Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania) legalized abortion in the late 1950s under pressure from the Soviets.^{[how?][additional citation(s) needed]}

In the United Kingdom, the Abortion Act of 1967 clarified and prescribed abortions as legal up to 28 weeks (later reduced to 24 weeks). Other countries soon followed, including Canada (1969), the United States (1973 in most states, pursuant to Roe v. Wade—the U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion nationwide), Tunisia and Denmark (1973), Austria (1974), France and Sweden (1975), New Zealand (1977), Italy (1978), the Netherlands (1984), and Belgium (1990). However, these countries vary greatly in the circumstances under which abortion was to be permitted. In 1975, the West German Supreme Court struck down a law legalizing abortion, holding that they contradict the constitution's human rights guarantees. In 1976, a law was adopted which enabled abortions up to 12 weeks. After Germany's reunification, despite the legal status of abortion in former East Germany, a compromise was reached which deemed most abortions up to 12 weeks legal, but this law was struck down by the Federal Constitutional Court and amended to only remove the punishment in such cases, without any statement to legality. In jurisdictions governed under sharia law, abortion after the 120th day from conception (19 weeks from LMP) is illegal, especially for those who follow the recommendations of the Hanafi legal school, while most jurists of the Maliki legal school "believe that ensoulment occurs at the moment of conception, and they tend to forbid abortion at any point [similar to the Roman Catholic Church]. The other schools hold intermediate positions. [...] The penalty prescribed for an illegal abortion varies according to particular circumstances involved. According to sharia, it should be limited to a fine that is paid to the father or heirs of the fetus."

The table below lists in chronological order the United Nations member states that have legalized abortion on request in at least some initial part of the pregnancy, or that have fully decriminalized abortion. As of 2023, 67 countries have legalized or decriminalized abortion on request.

Notes

Where a country has legalized abortion on request, prohibited it, and legalized it again (e.g., former Soviet Union, Romania), only the later year is included. Countries that result from the merger of states where abortion on request was legal at the moment of unification show the year when it became legal across the whole national territory (e.g., Germany, Vietnam). Similarly, countries where not all subnational jurisdictions have legalized abortion on request are not included, leading to the exclusion of Australia, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Countries where abortion on request was once legalized nationwide but has since been prohibited in at least part of the country, such as the United States and Poland, are also excluded. Countries are counted even if they were not yet independent at the time. The year refers to when the relevant law or judicial decision came into force, which may be different from the year when it was approved.

Year legalized	Countries	CpY	CC
1955	(  Armenia   Azerbaijan   Belarus   Estonia   Georgia   Kazakhstan   Kyrgyzstan   Latvia   Lithuania   Moldova   Russia   Tajikistan   Turkmenistan   Ukraine   Uzbekistan as part of the Soviet Union)	15	15
1957	China (  Czech Republic   Slovakia as part of Czechoslovakia)	3	18
1965	Cuba	1	19
1973	Denmark   Tunisia	2	21
1974	Singapore   Sweden	2	23
1975	Austria   France   Vietnam	3	26
1977	(  Bosnia and Herzegovina   Croatia   Montenegro   North Macedonia   Serbia   Slovenia as part of Yugoslavia)	6	32
1978	Italy   Luxembourg	2	34
1979	Norway	1	35
1983	Turkey	1	36
1984	Netherlands	1	37
1986	Cape Verde   Greece	2	39
1988	Canada	1	40
1989	Mongolia	1	41
1990	Belgium   Bulgaria   Romania	3	44
1992	Germany	1	45
1993	Guinea-Bissau	1	46
1995	Guyana	1	47
1996	Albania	1	48
1997	Cambodia   South Africa	2	50
2002	Nepal   Switzerland	2	52
2007	Portugal	1	53
2010	Spain	1	54
2012	São Tomé and Príncipe   Uruguay	2	56
2015	Mozambique	1	57
2018	Cyprus	1	58
2019	Iceland   Ireland	2	60
2020	New Zealand	1	61
2021	Argentina   South Korea   Thailand	3	64
2022	Colombia   San Marino	2	66
2023	Finland	1	67

There are no international or multinational treaties that deal directly with abortion but human rights law and International criminal law touch on the issues.

The Nuremberg Military Tribunal decided the case of United States v Greifelt and Others (1948) on the basis that abortion was a crime within its jurisdiction according to the law defining crimes against humanity and thus within its definition of murder and extermination.

The Catholic Church remains highly influential in Latin America, and opposes the legalisation of abortion. The American Convention on Human Rights, which in 2013 had 23 Latin American parties, declares human life as commencing with conception. In Latin America, abortion on request is only legal in Cuba (1965), Uruguay (2012), Argentina (2021), Colombia (2022) and in parts of Mexico. Abortions are completely banned in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, and only allowed in certain restricted circumstances in most other Latin American nations.

In the 2010 case of A, B and C v Ireland, the European Court of Human Rights found that the European Convention on Human Rights did not include a right to an abortion.

In 2005, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UN HRC) ordered Peru to compensate a woman (known as K.L.) for denying her a medically indicated abortion; this was the first time a United Nations Committee had held any country accountable for not ensuring access to safe, legal abortion, and the first time the committee affirmed that abortion is a human right. K.L. received the compensation in 2016. In the 2016 case of Mellet v Ireland, the UN HRC found Ireland's abortion laws violated International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights because Irish law banned abortion in cases of fatal fetal abnormalities.

While abortions are legal at least under certain conditions in almost all countries, these conditions vary widely. According to a United Nations (UN) report with data gathered up to 2019, abortion is allowed in 98% of countries in order to save a woman's life. Other commonly-accepted reasons are preserving physical (72%) or mental health (69%), in cases of rape or incest (61%), and in cases of fetal impairment (61%). Performing an abortion because of economic or social reasons is accepted in 37% of countries. Performing abortion only on the basis of a woman's request is allowed in 34% of countries, including in Canada, most European countries and China.

The exact scope of each legal ground also varies. For example, the laws of some countries cite health risks and fetal impairment as general grounds for abortion and allow a broad interpretation of such terms in practice, while other countries restrict them to a specific list of medical conditions or subcategories. Many countries that allow abortion have gestational limits for the procedure depending on the reason; with the majority being up to 12 weeks for abortion on request, up to 24 weeks for social, economic, rape, or incest reasons, and more for fetal impairment or threats to the woman's health or life.^: 26

In some countries, additional procedures must be followed before the abortion can be carried out even if the basic grounds for it are met. How strictly all of the procedures dictated in the legislation are followed in practice is another matter. For example, in the United Kingdom, a Care Quality Commission's report in 2012 found that several NHS clinics were circumventing the law, using forms pre-signed by one doctor, thus allowing abortions to patients who only met with one doctor.

Roe V. Wade has been established in the US for almost 50 years, put into motion in 1973,  before its overturn in 2022 due to Dobbs v. Jackson. This ruling made abortion access not a constitutional right. The decision, most of which was leaked in early May, means that abortion rights will be rolled back in nearly half of the states immediately, with more restrictions likely to follow. For all practical purposes, abortion will not be available in large swaths of the country.[2] 13 States, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming enacted a trigger law which placed an immediate but varying statewide abortion ban immediately following the overturning. These trigger laws were designed specifically to take effect immediately upon the fall of the Roe precedent. Other states, were bans are in effect after 6 weeks gestation, including Idaho, Tennessee, and Texas – have similar laws, which would take effect after 30 days of the overturning.[3]

Pill abortion access is legal in 36 states. However, a lawsuit in Texas is currently against the production and distribution of this Abortion pill, misoprostol. The ban would affect millions of women in the US who cannot access a medical procedural abortion due to a state ban. The group suing the FDA has asked for a preliminary injunction to take one of the two drugs used in a medication abortion, mifepristone, off the market while the case plays out.[4] This will effectively cause a nationwide ban of pill abortion if granted.

Summary tables

Countries

The table below summarizes the legal grounds for abortion in all United Nations member states and United Nations General Assembly observer states and some countries with limited recognition. This table is mostly based on data compiled by the United Nations up to 2019, with some updates, additions and clarifications citing other sources.

Legal grounds on which abortion is permitted in independent countries

Country	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request
Abkhazia	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Afghanistan	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Albania	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	no limit	22 weeks	12 weeks
Algeria	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Andorra	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Angola	permitted	permitted	16 weeks	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Antigua and Barbuda	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Argentina	no limit	no limit	no limit	14 weeks	14 weeks	14 weeks
Armenia	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	22 weeks	12 weeks
Australia [subdivisions]	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	varies
Australian Capital Territory	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit
Christmas Island	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	23 weeks
Cocos Islands	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	23 weeks
Jervis Bay Territory	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit
New South Wales	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	22 weeks
Norfolk Island	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit
Northern Territory	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	prohibited
Queensland	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	22 weeks
South Australia	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	22 weeks and 6 days
Tasmania	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	16 weeks
Victoria	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	24 weeks
Western Australia	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	23 weeks
Austria	no limit	no limit	3 months	no limit	3 months	3 months
Azerbaijan	no limit	no limit	permitted	permitted	22 weeks	12 weeks
Bahamas	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Bahrain	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Bangladesh	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Barbados	no limit	no limit	12 weeks	no limit	12 weeks	prohibited
Belarus	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	no limit	22 weeks	12 weeks
Belgium	no limit	no limit	14 weeks	no limit	14 weeks	14 weeks
Belize	no limit	no limit	prohibited	no limit	permitted	prohibited
Country	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request
Benin	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	prohibited
Bhutan	180 days	180 days	180 days	180 days	prohibited	prohibited
Bolivia	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Bosnia and Herzegovina [subdivisions]	no limit	no limit	permitted	permitted	permitted	10 weeks
Brčko District	no limit	no limit	20 weeks	20 weeks	10 weeks	10 weeks
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina	no limit	no limit	20 weeks	20 weeks	10 weeks	10 weeks
Republika Srpska	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	10 weeks
Botswana	16 weeks	16 weeks	16 weeks	16 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Brazil	22 weeks	prohibited	22 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Brunei	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Bulgaria	no limit	20 weeks	permitted	no limit	12 weeks	12 weeks
Burkina Faso	no limit	no limit	14 weeks	no limit	prohibited	prohibited
Burundi	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Cambodia	no limit	12 weeks	no limit	no limit	12 weeks	12 weeks
Cameroon	permitted	28 weeks	28 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Canada [subdivisions]	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted
Alberta	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	20 weeks
British Columbia	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	23 weeks and 6 days
Manitoba	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	19 weeks and 6 days
New Brunswick	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	16 weeks
Newfoundland and Labrador	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	15 weeks
Northwest Territories	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	19 weeks and 6 days
Nova Scotia	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	16 weeks
Nunavut	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	12 weeks
Ontario	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	23 weeks and 6 days
Prince Edward Island	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	12 weeks and 6 days
Quebec	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	23 weeks and 6 days
Saskatchewan	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	18 weeks and 6 days
Yukon	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	12 weeks and 6 days
Cape Verde	no limit	no limit	12 weeks	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
Central African Republic	8 weeks	prohibited	8 weeks	8 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Chad	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Chile	no limit	prohibited	12 weeks	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
China	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted
Colombia	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	24 weeks	24 weeks
Comoros	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Country	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request
Congo	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Costa Rica	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Croatia	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	10 weeks	10 weeks
Cuba	no limit	22 weeks	no limit	35 weeks	22 weeks	12 weeks
Cyprus	permitted	permitted	19 weeks	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
Czech Republic	no limit	permitted	12 weeks	no limit	12 weeks	12 weeks
Democratic Republic of the Congo	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Denmark	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	12 weeks
Djibouti	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Dominica	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Dominican Republic	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
East Timor	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Ecuador	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Egypt	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
El Salvador	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Equatorial Guinea	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Eritrea	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Estonia	22 weeks	22 weeks	12 weeks	22 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
Eswatini	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Ethiopia	28 weeks	28 weeks	28 weeks	28 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Country	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request
Fiji	no limit	no limit	20 weeks	no limit	prohibited	prohibited
Finland	no limit	no limit	20 weeks	24 weeks	20 weeks	12 weeks
France	no limit	no limit	16 weeks	no limit	16 weeks	16 weeks
Gabon	10 weeks	prohibited	10 weeks	10 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Gambia	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Georgia	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
Germany	no limit	no limit	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
Ghana	28 weeks	28 weeks	28 weeks	28 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Greece	no limit	no limit	19 weeks	24 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
Grenada	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Guatemala	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Guinea	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Guinea-Bissau	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted
Guyana	no limit	no limit	16 weeks	16 weeks	8 weeks	8 weeks
Haiti	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Honduras	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Hungary	no limit	12 weeks	12 weeks	20 weeks	12 weeks	prohibited
Iceland	no limit	no limit	permitted	no limit	permitted	22 weeks
India	no limit	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks	prohibited
Indonesia	no limit	no limit	14 weeks	no limit	prohibited	prohibited
Country	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request
Iran	4 months	4 months	prohibited	4 months	prohibited	prohibited
Iraq	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Ireland	viability	viability	12 weeks	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
Israel	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited
Italy	no limit	viability	90 days	90 days	90 days	90 days
Ivory Coast	permitted	prohibited	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Jamaica	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Japan	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	prohibited	22 weeks	prohibited
Jordan	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Kazakhstan	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	no limit	22 weeks	12 weeks
Kenya	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Kiribati	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Kosovo	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	no limit	10 weeks	10 weeks
Kuwait	permitted	4 months	prohibited	4 months	prohibited	prohibited
Kyrgyzstan	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	12 weeks
Laos	permitted	28 weeks	28 weeks	28 weeks	28 weeks	prohibited
Latvia	permitted	24 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
Lebanon	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Lesotho	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Liberia	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Country	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request
Libya	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Liechtenstein	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Lithuania	no limit	no limit	12 weeks	no limit	12 weeks	12 weeks
Luxembourg	no limit	no limit	14 weeks	no limit	14 weeks	14 weeks
Madagascar	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Malawi	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Malaysia	22 weeks	22 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Maldives	no limit	prohibited	120 days	120 days	prohibited	prohibited
Mali	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Malta	viability	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Marshall Islands	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Mauritania	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Mauritius	no limit	no limit	14 weeks	no limit	prohibited	prohibited
Mexico [subdivisions]	varies	varies	permitted	varies	varies	varies
Aguascalientes	permitted	12 weeks	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
Baja California	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
Baja California Sur	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
Campeche	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Chiapas	permitted	prohibited	90 days	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Chihuahua	permitted	permitted	90 days	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Coahuila	permitted	permitted	90 days	permitted	permitted	permitted
Colima	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
Durango	permitted	prohibited	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Guanajuato	prohibited	prohibited	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Guerrero	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
Hidalgo	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
Jalisco	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Mexico City	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
Mexico State	permitted	prohibited	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Michoacán	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	permitted	12 weeks	prohibited
Morelos	permitted	prohibited	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Nayarit	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Nuevo León	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Oaxaca	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
Puebla	permitted	prohibited	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Querétaro	prohibited	prohibited	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Quintana Roo	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
San Luis Potosí	permitted	prohibited	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Sinaloa	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	13 weeks	13 weeks
Sonora	permitted	prohibited	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Tabasco	permitted	prohibited	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Tamaulipas	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Tlaxcala	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Veracruz	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	12 weeks	12 weeks
Yucatán	permitted	prohibited	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited
Zacatecas	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Micronesia	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Moldova	21 weeks	21 weeks	21 weeks	21 weeks	21 weeks	12 weeks
Monaco	no limit	no limit	12 weeks	no limit	prohibited	prohibited
Mongolia	23 weeks	23 weeks	permitted	permitted	14 weeks	14 weeks
Montenegro	32 weeks	32 weeks	20 weeks	20 weeks	10 weeks	10 weeks
Morocco	no limit	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Country	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request
Mozambique	no limit	no limit	16 weeks	24 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
Myanmar	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Namibia	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Nauru	no limit	no limit	20 weeks	20 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Nepal[needs update]	28 weeks	28 weeks	28 weeks	28 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
Netherlands	no limit	no limit	24 weeks	no limit	24 weeks	24 weeks
New Zealand	no limit	no limit	permitted	permitted	permitted	20 weeks
Nicaragua	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Niger	permitted	permitted	prohibited	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Nigeria [subdivisions]	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Abia	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Adamawa	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Akwa Ibom	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Anambra	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Bauchi	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Bayelsa	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Benue	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Borno	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Cross River	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Delta	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Ebonyi	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Edo	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Ekiti	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Enugu	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Federal Capital Territory	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Gombe	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Imo	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Jigawa	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Kaduna	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Kano	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Katsina	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Kebbi	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Kogi	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Kwara	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Lagos	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Nasarawa	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Niger	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Ogun	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Ondo	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Osun	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Oyo	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Plateau	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Rivers	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Sokoto	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Taraba	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Yobe	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Zamfara	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Northern Cyprus	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	10 weeks
North Korea	permitted	permitted	unclear	permitted	unclear	unclear
North Macedonia	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	12 weeks
Norway	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	12 weeks
Oman	permitted	permitted	prohibited	120 days	prohibited	prohibited
Pakistan	no limit	organ formation	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Palau	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Palestine	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Panama	no limit	prohibited	2 months	24 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Papua New Guinea	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Country	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request
Paraguay	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Peru	22 weeks	22 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Philippines	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Poland	no limit	no limit	13 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Portugal	no limit	no limit	16 weeks	24 weeks	10 weeks	10 weeks
Qatar	no limit	4 months	prohibited	4 months	prohibited	prohibited
Romania	no limit	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	14 weeks
Russia	permitted	permitted	22 weeks	no limit	12 weeks	12 weeks
Rwanda	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	no limit	prohibited	prohibited
Saint Kitts and Nevis	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Saint Lucia	no limit	no limit	12 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited
Samoa	20 weeks	20 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
San Marino	viability	viability	viability	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
São Tomé and Príncipe	no limit	no limit	no limit	16 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
Saudi Arabia	no limit	4 months	40 days	40 days	prohibited	prohibited
Senegal	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Serbia	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	10 weeks	10 weeks
Seychelles	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Sierra Leone	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Country	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request
Singapore	no limit	no limit	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks
Slovakia	no limit	permitted	12 weeks	no limit	12 weeks	12 weeks
Slovenia	no limit	no limit	10 weeks	10 weeks	10 weeks	10 weeks
Solomon Islands	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Somalia	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
South Africa	no limit	20 weeks	20 weeks	no limit	20 weeks	12 weeks
South Korea	permitted	24 weeks	24 weeks	permitted	permitted	permitted
South Ossetia	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	22 weeks	12 weeks
South Sudan	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Spain	22 weeks	22 weeks	14 weeks	22 weeks	14 weeks	14 weeks
Sri Lanka	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Sudan	no limit	prohibited	90 days	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Suriname	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Sweden	no limit	no limit	18 weeks	18 weeks	18 weeks	18 weeks
Switzerland	no limit	no limit	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
Syria	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Taiwan	no limit	no limit	24 weeks	no limit	24 weeks	prohibited
Tajikistan	permitted	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	12 weeks
Tanzania	no limit	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Thailand	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	20 weeks	20 weeks
Country	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request
Togo	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
Tonga	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Transnistria	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	no limit	22 weeks	12 weeks
Trinidad and Tobago	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Tunisia	no limit	no limit	3 months	no limit	3 months	3 months
Turkey	no limit	10 weeks	20 weeks	no limit	10 weeks	10 weeks
Turkmenistan	no limit	no limit	permitted	permitted	22 weeks	5 weeks
Tuvalu	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Uganda	28 weeks	28 weeks	28 weeks	28 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Ukraine	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
United Arab Emirates	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
United Kingdom [subdivisions]	no limit	no limit	permitted	no limit	24 weeks	varies
England	no limit	no limit	permitted	no limit	24 weeks	prohibited
Northern Ireland	no limit	no limit	permitted	no limit	24 weeks	12 weeks
Scotland	no limit	no limit	permitted	no limit	24 weeks	prohibited
Wales	no limit	no limit	permitted	no limit	24 weeks	prohibited
United States [subdivisions]	no limit	varies	varies	varies	varies	varies
Alabama	no limit	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Alaska	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit
Arizona	no limit	no limit	15 weeks	15 weeks	15 weeks	15 weeks
Arkansas	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
California	no limit	no limit	viability	viability	viability	viability
Colorado	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit
Connecticut	no limit	no limit	viability	viability	viability	viability
Delaware	no limit	no limit	viability	no limit	viability	viability
District of Columbia	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit
Florida	no limit	no limit	15 weeks	15 weeks	15 weeks	15 weeks
Georgia	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	no limit	heartbeat	heartbeat
Hawaii	no limit	no limit	viability	viability	viability	viability
Idaho	no limit	prohibited	15 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Illinois	no limit	no limit	viability	viability	viability	viability
Indiana	no limit	no limit	12 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Iowa	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks
Kansas	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks
Kentucky	no limit	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Louisiana	no limit	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Maine	no limit	no limit	viability	viability	viability	viability
Maryland	no limit	no limit	viability	no limit	viability	viability
Massachusetts	no limit	no limit	24 weeks	no limit	24 weeks	24 weeks
Michigan	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit
Minnesota	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit
Mississippi	no limit	prohibited	20 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Missouri	no limit	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Montana	no limit	no limit	viability	viability	viability	viability
Nebraska	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
Nevada	no limit	no limit	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks
New Hampshire	no limit	no limit	24 weeks	no limit	24 weeks	24 weeks
New Jersey	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit
New Mexico	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit
New York	no limit	no limit	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks
North Carolina	no limit	no limit	20 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
North Dakota	no limit	no limit	6 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Ohio	no limit	no limit	viability	viability	viability	viability
Oklahoma	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Oregon	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit
Pennsylvania	no limit	no limit	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks
Rhode Island	no limit	no limit	viability	viability	viability	viability
South Carolina	no limit	no limit	12 weeks	no limit	heartbeat	heartbeat
South Dakota	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Tennessee	no limit	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Texas	no limit	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Utah	no limit	no limit	no limit	18 weeks	18 weeks	18 weeks
Vermont	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit
Virginia	no limit	no limit	6 months	6 months	6 months	6 months
Washington	no limit	no limit	viability	viability	viability	viability
West Virginia	no limit	no limit	11 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Wisconsin	no limit	no limit	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks
Wyoming	no limit	no limit	viability	viability	viability	viability
Uruguay	no limit	no limit	14 weeks	no limit	12 weeks	12 weeks
Uzbekistan	permitted	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	12 weeks
Vanuatu	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Vatican City	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Venezuela	22 weeks	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Vietnam	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	22 weeks
Yemen	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Zambia	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited
Zimbabwe	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	22 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Country	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request

Autonomous jurisdictions

The table below summarizes the legal grounds for abortion in autonomous jurisdictions not included in the previous table.

Legal grounds on which abortion is permitted in other autonomous jurisdictions

Jurisdiction	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request
Akrotiri and Dhekelia	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited
American Samoa	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Anguilla	no limit	28 weeks	prohibited	28 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Aruba	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Bermuda	permitted	permitted	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited
British Virgin Islands	no limit	28 weeks	prohibited	28 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Cayman Islands	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Cook Islands	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Curaçao	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Falkland Islands	no limit	no limit	permitted	no limit	24 weeks	prohibited
Faroe Islands	no limit	no limit	16 weeks	16 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Gibraltar	no limit	no limit	12 weeks	no limit	12 weeks	prohibited
Greenland	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	12 weeks
Guam	no limit	no limit	26 weeks	26 weeks	13 weeks	13 weeks
Guernsey [subdivisions]	permitted	permitted	varies	varies	varies	prohibited
Alderney	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Guernsey	no limit	no limit	permitted	no limit	24 weeks	prohibited
Sark	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Hong Kong	no limit	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks	prohibited
Isle of Man	no limit	no limit	23 weeks	no limit	23 weeks	14 weeks
Jersey	no limit	no limit	12 weeks	24 weeks	12 weeks	12 weeks
Macau	no limit	no limit	24 weeks	24 weeks	prohibited	prohibited
Montserrat	no limit	viability	prohibited	viability	prohibited	prohibited
Niue	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Northern Mariana Islands	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Pitcairn Islands	no limit	no limit	permitted	no limit	24 weeks	prohibited
Puerto Rico	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	no limit	prohibited
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha	no limit	no limit	permitted	no limit	24 weeks	prohibited
Sint Maarten	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Tokelau	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
Turks and Caicos Islands	permitted	permitted	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited	prohibited
U.S. Virgin Islands	no limit	no limit	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks	24 weeks
Jurisdiction	Risk to life	Risk to health	Rape	Fetal impairment	Economic or social	On request

Comparative limits for countries with elective abortions

Legal limits may not be directly comparable. Limits may be expressed in trimesters, months, weeks of pregnancy (implantation), weeks from fertilization, or weeks from last menstrual period (LMP).

 

 

 

Countries with more restrictive laws

 

According to a report by Women on Waves,^{[better source needed]} approximately 25% of the world's population^{[as of?]} lives in countries with "highly restrictive abortion laws"—that is, laws which either completely ban abortion, or allow it only to save the mother's life. This category includes several countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania, as well as Andorra and Malta in Europe. The Center for Reproductive Rights report that "[t]he inability to access safe and legal abortion care impacts 700 million women of reproductive age."

Some of the countries of Central America, notably El Salvador, have also come to international attention due to very forceful enforcement of the laws, including the incarceration of a gang-rape victim for homicide when she gave birth to a stillborn son and was accused of attempting an illegal abortion.

El Salvador has some of the strictest abortion laws of any country. Abortion under all circumstances, including rape, incest, and risk to the mothers health, is illegal. Women can be criminalized and penalized to up to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of an abortion. El Salvador's abortion laws are so severe that miscarriages and stillbirths can sometimes be enough for conviction. The Inter-American Court has already ruled that El Salvador was responsible for the death of Manuela, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2008 for aggravated homicide after suffering an obstetric emergency that resulted in her losing her pregnancy.[5] Lack of access to abortion is recognized by Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia as a human rights issue. This shows progress in underdeveloped nations.

Ireland

Ireland has had a long withstanding rule of the land called the Offenses Against Persons Act of 1861, which is what first prohibited abortions. This law was enacted to prohibit abortions in Ireland in 1920 when Ireland became its own independent country. To counteract the infiltration of pro abortion laws, Ireland's Catholic organizations formed the Pro Life Amendment Campaign. This organization was formed to create an abortion ban at a constitutional level. Ireland's 8th constitutional amendment was made in 1986, “acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and [gave] due regard to the equal right to life of the mother.”

In 1992, a case of a 14 year old pregnant girl, threatening suicide to the courts if she were not allowed abortion, sparked change in Ireland's people. An appeals was made to the higher courts that suicidal thoughts were enough for endangerment of a mother's life for termination to be allowed. This case began the new wave of activism in Ireland which promoted the protection of the mother's life, and pushed for abortion rights. Activism grew into the larger public eye which prompted new laws to be made and introduced protecting the mother's life.

New wave of activism in Ireland stretched until 2013 when the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act was signed into law. This law recognized the mother's life over the fetus's and would allow pregnancy termination in cases where the mother is in danger. In 2018 Ireland's abortion ban by constitution was repealed and abortions up to the first trimester were legalized and covered by Ireland's public health service.

Beginning of pregnancy controversy

Controversy over the beginning of pregnancy occurs in different contexts, particularly in a legal context, and is particularly discussed within the abortion debate from the point of measuring the gestational age of the pregnancy. Pregnancy can be measured from a number of convenient points, including the day of last menstruation, ovulation, fertilization, implantation and chemical detection. A common medical way to calculate gestational age is to measure pregnancy from the first day of the last menstrual cycle. However, not all legal systems use this measure for the purpose of abortion law; for example countries such as Belgium, France, and Luxembourg use the term "pregnancy" in the abortion law to refer to the time elapsed from the sexual act that led to conception, which is presumed to be 2 weeks after the end of the last menstrual period.

Exceptions in abortion laws occur either in countries where abortion is as a general rule illegal or in countries that have abortion on request with gestational limits. For example, if a country allows abortion on request until 12 weeks, it may create exceptions to this general gestation limit for later abortions in specific circumstances.

There are a few exceptions commonly found in abortion laws. Legal domains which do not have abortion on demand will often allow it when the health of the mother is at stake. "Health of the mother" may mean something different in different areas: for example, prior to December 2018, Ireland allowed abortion only to save the mother's life, whereas abortion opponents in the United States argue health exceptions are used so broadly as to render a ban essentially meaningless.

Laws allowing abortion in cases of rape or incest often differ. For example, before Roe v. Wade, thirteen U.S. states allowed abortion in the case of either rape or incest, but only Mississippi permitted abortion of pregnancies due to rape, and no state permitted it for just incest.

Many^[vague] countries allow abortion only through the first or second trimester, and some may allow abortion in cases of fetal defects, e.g., Down syndrome, or where the pregnancy is the result of a sexual crime.

Laws in some countries with liberal abortion laws protect access to abortion services. Such legislation often seeks to guard abortion clinics against obstruction, vandalism, picketing, and other actions, or to protect patients and employees of such facilities from threats and harassment. Other laws create a perimeter around a facility, known variously as a "buffer zone", "bubble zone", or "access zone", where demonstrations opposing abortion are not permitted. Protests and other displays are restricted to a certain distance from the building, which varies depending on the law. Similar zones have also been created to protect the homes of abortion providers and clinic staff. Bubble zone laws are divided into "fixed" and "floating" categories. Fixed bubble zone laws apply to the static area around the facility itself, and floating laws to objects in transit, such as people or cars. Because of conflicts between anti-abortion activists on one side and women seeking abortion and medical staff who provides abortion on the other side, some laws are quite strict: in South Africa for instance, any person who prevents the lawful termination of a pregnancy or obstructs access to a facility for the termination of a pregnancy faces up to 10 years in prison (section 10.1 (c) of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act).

On 3 November 2020, an association of 20 Kenyan charities urged the government of Kenya to withdraw from the Geneva Consensus Declaration (GCD), a US-led international accord that sought to limit access to abortion for girls and women around the world. GCD was signed by 33 nations, on 22 October 2020.