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Abortion in Europe

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A visual example of differing European views on abortion – a poster adopted by opponents of abortion in Poland with vandalism in favour of abortion rights.

Abortion in Europe varies considerably between countries and territories due to differing national laws and policies on its legality, availability of the procedure, and alternative forms of support for pregnant women and their families.

In most European countries, abortion is generally permitted within a term limit below fetal viability (e.g. 12 weeks in Germany and Italy, or 14 weeks in France and Spain), although a wide range of exceptions permit abortion later in the pregnancy.[1][2] The longest term limits – in terms of gestation – are in the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands, both at 24 weeks of gestation.

Abortion is subsidized or fully funded in many European countries.[1] Grounds for abortion are highly restricted in Poland and in the smaller jurisdictions of Monaco, Liechtenstein, Malta and the Faroe Islands, and abortion is prohibited in Andorra.[3]

The European Court of Human Rights, summarising its abortion-related case law, in the Vo v France ruling in 2004, noted the "diversity of views on the point at which life begins, of legal cultures and of national standards of protection" and therefore, in a European context, the nation-state "has been left with considerable discretion in the matter."[4]

History

[edit]

Abortions have taken place either within or outside the law throughout European history, alongside initiatives by opponents of abortion to provide alternatives where a pregnancy is difficult or unwanted. These have included kinship care by families and friendship circles in every culture, the adoption and fostering of alumni children in Roman society, and the oblation of children who were given into the care of monastic institutions if a family was unable to provide adequate care.[5] In the modern era, formal support services have included adoption, fostering and foundling hospitals.

Ancient Greece and Rome

[edit]

Debates around abortion, pregnancy and the beginning of life were common in Greek and Roman philosophy and medicine, and would have also been known in cultures which have not left a written record. The medical writer Soranus of Ephesus wrote in the early 2nd century AD:[6]

A contraceptive differs from an abortive, for the first does not let conception take place, while the latter destroys what has been conceived ... But a controversy has arisen. For one party banishes abortives ... because it is the specific task of medicine to guard and preserve what has been engendered by nature. The other party prescribes abortives, but with discrimination ...

Much of what is known about the methods and practice of abortion in Greek and Roman history comes from early classical texts. Abortion, as a gynecological procedure, was primarily the province of women who were either midwives or well-informed laypeople. In his Theaetetus, Plato mentions a midwife's ability to induce abortion in the early stages of pregnancy.[7][8][9] A fragment attributed to the poet Lysias "suggests that abortion was a crime in Athens against the husband, if his wife was pregnant when he died, since his unborn child could have claimed the estate."[10]

Tertullian, a 2nd- and 3rd-century Christian theologian, described surgical implements which were used in a procedure similar to modern dilation and evacuation.[11]

Development of Christian perspectives

[edit]

An early Christian understanding of preventing abortion and infanticide was outlined in the 1st century Didache, which was published in Syria or Palestine and became widely available in Europe with the growth of the early Church.[12]

Restrictions on abortion have generally corresponded with laws and societies influenced by Christianity or where a substantial number of health professionals refuse to perform abortion due to a personal conscientious objection which is often, but not always, related to religious faith.[13]

Pope John Paul II outlined Catholic teaching on abortion and support for a definition of life beginning at conception in his 1995 encyclical Evangelium vitae[14] and through the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church:[15]

Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity has similarly strongly condemned abortion. The Russian Orthodox Church's Social Concept states:[16]

Since the ancient time the Church has viewed deliberate abortion as a grave sin. The canons equate abortion with murder. This assessment is based on the conviction that the conception of a human being is a gift of God.

Following the Reformation, Protestants also affirmed life before birth and opposed abortion, although individual Protestant churches have adopted differing positions on the grounds on which abortion should or should not be permitted. John Calvin, for example, wrote:[17]

The fetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being, and it is almost a monstrous crime to rob it of the life which it has not yet begun to enjoy.

The bishops of the Anglican Communion expressed opposition to abortion at the 1930 Lambeth Conference.[18] The 1958 Lambeth Conference's Family in Contemporary Society report affirmed the following position on abortion[19] and was commended by the 1968 Conference:[20]

In the strongest terms Christians reject the practice of induced abortion or infanticide, which involves the killing of a life already conceived (as well as a violation of the personality of the mother), save at the dictate of strict and undeniable medical necessity ... the sacredness of life is, in Christian eyes, an absolute which should not be violated.

Development of other faith and secular perspectives

[edit]

Islamic and Jewish perspectives on abortion differ according to the scholarship followed. All Islamic schools of thought agree that abortion is recommended when the mother's life is in danger as the mother's life is paramount. The author of Sahih al-Bukhari (Book of Hadith) writes that the unborn child is believed to become a living soul after 120 days of gestation.[21]

Abortion has been questioned from a secular perspective, drawing on modern understandings of science and human rights,[22] although the potential to legalise and increase the availability of abortion was supported by secular and libertarian feminists and socialists from the mid-19th century onwards. The 1871 Paris Commune, for example, declared:[23]

The submission of the children and the mother to the authority of the father, who prepares the submission of each one to the authority of the chief, is pronounced dead. The couple consents freely to seek common pleasure. The Commune proclaims freedom of birth: the right to sexual information from childhood, the right to abortion, the right to contraception. As the products cease to be the property of their parents. They live together in their home and run their own lives.

Eastern Europe

[edit]
Soviet poster, from 1925, warning against abortions induced without medical care.

The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was the first country in Europe to legalise abortion in 1920[24] and was followed by other Soviet Union republics. However, between 1936 and 1955, abortion in the Soviet Union was highly restricted due to medical concerns and its impact on population growth.[25]

Under eugenics laws in Nazi Germany, abortion was severely punished for women considered to be Aryan (racially superior). However, abortion was permitted on wider and more explicit grounds if the unborn child was believed to be deformed or disabled or if a termination otherwise was deemed desirable on eugenic or racial grounds, including forced abortion on Polish and Jewish women.[26][27]

Abortion law became more liberalised in Eastern Europe in the 1950s after the installation of communist regimes across the Eastern Bloc. The reintroduction of abortion in Soviet law in 1955[28] was accompanied by similar changes in:

After the fall of communism, most of Eastern Europe continued with liberal abortion laws except for Poland, where abortion is allowed only in cases of risk to the life or health of the pregnant woman or when the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. Abortion in cases of an abnormality in an unborn child was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Poland in 2020.[32]

While abortion is more widely available in Hungary and Slovakia, the Constitution of Slovakia describes human life as "worthy of protection already before birth"[33] and the Constitution of Hungary states that "embryonic and foetal life shall be subject to protection from the moment of conception."[34]

Scandinavia

[edit]
A clinic in Sweden where unlawful abortions were performed during the 1930s.

Sweden was the first liberal democracy in Europe to legalise abortion, in 1938; this move was followed by the introduction of limited abortion laws in Denmark in 1939,[35] Finland in 1950,[36] and Norway in 1964. More liberal abortion laws were introduced in Norway in 1964, Finland in 1970, and Denmark and Iceland in 1973.

Greenland has followed Denmark's liberal policy on abortion, and has at times experienced more abortions than live births taking place,[37] whereas the Faroe Islands have maintained a more conservative approach; the issue was transferred to the Faroese Parliament (Løgting) in 2018.[38]

The Parliament of Norway (Storting) legislated in 2015 that an unborn child is presumed to be viable at 21 weeks and 6 days unless there are specific reasons otherwise.[39] The law was clarified as survival after abortion was recorded in some cases at 22 or 23 weeks of gestation.[40]

Western Europe

[edit]

The Abortion Act 1967, in Great Britain, was the first major liberalisation of abortion law in Western Europe. English law had previously allowed for abortion on limited grounds under the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929 (also protecting the life of the pregnant woman) and from 1938 under the Bourne judgment in cases where a pregnancy would result in a pregnant woman becoming a "mental and physical wreck".[41] Abortion continued to be limited to those grounds in Northern Ireland as the issue was devolved to the Northern Ireland Parliament.[42]

'Yes to the child, trust, life, help, no to abortion', poster from Bavaria, 1987.

Abortion on request during the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy was permitted in East Germany from 1972. The same policy was enacted in West Germany in 1974 but was ruled unconstitutional in 1975 by the Federal Constitutional Court as it infringed on the right to life of the unborn child. A revised law, with restrictions on abortion, was introduced in 1976.

The court ruled that a "life developing in the mother's womb is under the protection of the Constitution as an independent legal interest" and that the "protective duty of the State prohibits not only direct governmental encroachments upon the developing life but, in addition, commands the State to adopt a protective and encouraging role in regard to this life." This obligation was balanced with the rights of the mother – therefore permitting abortion in certain circumstances – although with the protection of fetal life, in principle, taking precedence.[43]

The law on abortion in France was liberalised in 1975 and the changes in France and Germany were followed by similar changes in the law elsewhere in Europe:

March for abortion rights in Dublin, 2012.
Anti-abortion demonstration in Rome, 2019.

King Baudouin of Belgium, a devout Catholic, stepped aside from his role as monarch due to his conscientious objection to abortion legislation in 1990; the law was approved by the Government of Belgium (acting as head of state) and Baudouin resumed his reign one day later.[51] King Baudouin's letter on the issue, to his then Prime Minister, Wilfried Martens, is displayed in the BELvue Museum in Brussels.

The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, approved by referendum in 1983, and the subsequent Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 limited abortion to cases where the pregnant woman's life was endangered. The law on abortion changed significantly to a very liberal policy in Ireland when, in 2018, the Eighth Amendment was repealed by a subsequent referendum. The resulting law allowed for abortion on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, and on more limited grounds at later stages.

Abortion in Northern Ireland was liberalised in 2019 and 2020, from being permitted in cases of "risk of real and serious adverse effect on ... physical or mental health, which is either long term or permanent" to being available on request up to 12 weeks and on further grounds later in pregnancy.[53]

In March 2024, France became the first country to excplicitly include the right to abortion in the Constitution influenced by the overturning of Roe v. Wade ruling in the US in 2022.[54][55]

Grounds for abortion by jurisdiction

[edit]
Map showing the legality of abortion on request in Europe, based on available information in 2022.
  Total ban or prohibited
  Only available in cases of rape, incest or the health of the mother
Legal to term limit of:
   10 weeks
   11 weeks
   12 weeks
   13 weeks (3 months)
   14 weeks
   18 weeks (4 months)
   20 weeks
   24 weeks (5½ months)
     12–28 weeks
     12 weeks (or later if authorised)
     10 weeks (or later if authorised)
     12 weeks (elective procedure)
     Must be approved by committee

In most European nation-states and other territories, there is a legally defined term limit before which abortion is more available than afterwards.[56] An elective abortion before the term limit may, in some cases, be carried out on request without a medical indication by the pregnant woman, or under certain conditions.

The grounds on which abortion is, or is not, available vary according to differences in national laws, policies and practices, which may include:

  • circumstances in which abortion is allowed after the first trimester of a pregnancy;[57][58]
  • whether or not counselling or a waiting time (known as Bedenkzeit in Germany) between the request and the requested termination is required;
  • availability and cost of medicines or equipment for the procedure;
  • levels of support or objection from medical and other healthcare professionals (for example, widespread conscientious objection in Italy);[59][60]
  • whether the parents of a girl requesting an abortion are required to give consent for (or be informed of) an abortion to end an under-age pregnancy.[61][59][62]

In countries and territories where abortion is more restricted, women regularly travel to neighbouring countries with more liberal laws. For example, almost 8,000 women from the island of Ireland travelled to England and Wales for abortions each year in the early 2000s; however, this number decreased, year on year, to around 4,000 in 2018, and to less than 1,000 per year following changes in the law in Ireland and Northern Ireland.[63]

At present, a 10-week term limit is accepted in law in countries which were formerly part of Yugoslavia, whereas the 12-week limits has been adopted in most jurisdictions (including former republics of the Soviet Union and also most central European countries). Higher term limits are comparatively less common and are in place in France (14 weeks), Sweden (18 weeks), Iceland (22 weeks), and the Netherlands (24 weeks).[64]

Countries with no formal term limit in law include those with more restrictive laws and Great Britain, which has a strongly liberal law and policy; almost 89% abortions in England and Wales in 2021 were undertaken before 10 weeks of gestation, 1 per cent after 20 weeks, and 0.1% after 24 weeks.[65]

National abortion laws

[edit]
Name Elective term limit Permitted further grounds
Albania Albania 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Risk to life or health of pregnant woman
  • Severe (incurable) malformation of unborn child

Up to 22 weeks:

  • Social reasons
  • Pregnancy as a result of sexual crime[66]
Andorra Andorra Not applicable Double effect principle – saving the life of the woman may have the unintended consequence of ending a pregnancy.[67]
Armenia Armenia 12 weeks

Up to 22 weeks:

  • Pregnant woman deprived of maternal rights during pregnancy
  • Divorce
  • Pregnancy as a result of rape
  • Medical grounds related to the health of pregnant woman
  • Congenital abnormality in unborn child[68]
Austria Austria 13 weeks
  • Immediate danger to life of pregnant woman
  • Serious danger to life or to the physical or mental health of pregnant woman
  • Serious danger of serious physical or mental defect in unborn child
  • Pregnant woman became pregnant when under 14 years of age[69]
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Child with disabilities in family
  • Disability of husband

Up to 22 weeks:

  • Death of husband during pregnancy
  • Court order depriving or restricting parental rights
  • Refugee or internally displaced person status
  • Lack of housing
  • Recognition of woman or husband as unemployed
  • Presence of woman or husband in place of imprisonment
  • Extra-marital pregnancy
  • Dissolution of marriage during pregnancy
  • Pregnancy as a result of rape
  • Multiple children in family (5 or more)[70]

Azerbaijan has high levels of sex-selective abortion, resulting in the birth of more sons than daughters.[71]

Belarus Belarus 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Risk to life of pregnant woman

Up to 22 weeks:

  • Imprisonment of pregnant woman or husband
  • Severe disability in husband
  • Additional child with a disability since childhood
  • Death of husband during pregnancy
  • Divorce during pregnancy
  • Court decision to remove parental rights
  • Pregnancy as a result of rape
  • Family has more than three children
  • Unemployment of pregnant woman or husband
  • Refugee status[72]
Belgium Belgium 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Serious threat to life of pregnant woman
  • Child will suffer from incurable disease if born (based on current scientific knowledge)[73]
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 weeks

Between 10 and 20 weeks:

  • Risk to life and health of pregnant woman
  • Risk to physical or mental health of unborn child
  • Pregnancy as a result of sexual crime

After 20 weeks:

  • Saving life or health of pregnant woman[74]

Counselling before and after an abortion is required in Republika Srpska.[75]

Bulgaria Bulgaria 12 weeks

Up to 20 weeks:

  • Risk to health of pregnant woman and unborn child

At any stage:

  • Risk to life of pregnant woman
  • Severe malformation in unborn child[76]
Croatia Croatia 10 weeks

At any stage:

  • Risk to life of pregnant woman
  • Risk of damage to health of pregnant woman
  • Risk of severe congenital physical or mental defects in unborn child
  • Pregnancy as a result of sexual crime

A pregnancy may not be terminated if it is demonstrated that this could seriously harm the health of the pregnant woman.[77]

Cyprus Cyprus[78] 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Risk to physical or mental health of pregnant woman

Up to 19 weeks:

  • Pregnancy as a result of sexual crime

Up to 24 weeks:

  • Severe abnormality in unborn child[79]
Czech Republic Czechia 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Danger to the life of pregnant woman
  • Serious malformation in unborn child
  • Unborn child considered 'incapable of life'

Up to 24 weeks:

  • Genetic grounds for abortion[80]
Denmark Denmark 12 weeks

In second trimester:

  • Risk to life of pregnant woman
  • Risk of severe deterioration in physical or mental health of pregnant woman
  • Risk of deterioration of the health of pregnant woman due to existing or potential physical or mental illness (or as a consequence of other conditions)
  • Danger that unborn child will be affected by serious physical or mental disorder
  • Pregnant woman considered incapable of giving proper care to child due to physical or mental disability
  • Pregnant woman considered incapable (for the time) of giving proper care to child due to her youth or immaturity
  • Pregnancy, childbirth or care of child considered to constitute a serious burden to pregnant woman (which cannot otherwise be averted)
  • Pregnancy as a result of a criminal act[81]
Estonia Estonia 12 weeks Up to 22 weeks:
  • Risk to health of pregnant woman
  • Severe mental or physical health disorder in unborn child
  • Medical condition in pregnant woman prevents development of unborn child
  • Pregnant woman is under 15 years of age
  • Pregnant woman is over 45 years of age[82]
Finland Finland 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Risk to health of pregnant woman

Up to 20 weeks:

  • Care of child after birth would be considerable strain for pregnant woman
  • Parent has medical condition that will cause difficulty in caring for child
  • Pregnancy as a result of sexual crime
  • Probable serious illness or disability in unborn child
  • Pregnant woman was under 17 years of age at conception
  • Pregnant woman was over 40 years of age at conception
  • Pregnant woman has previously given birth to four or more children

Up to 24 weeks:

  • Serious illness or disability in unborn child

Permission is needed from National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) for abortions on social grounds or related to serious illness or disability in unborn child.[83]

France France 14 weeks
  • Serious danger to life of pregnant woman
  • Serious danger to health of pregnant woman
  • Significant probability that unborn child will be born with a serious incurable disease[84]

The Constitution of France, as amended in 2024, guarantees the freedom of a woman "to have recourse to a voluntary termination of pregnancy".[85]

Germany Germany 12 weeks

Up to 12 weeks:

  • Pregnancy as a result of criminal offence

Up to 22 weeks:

  • Danger to life of pregnant woman
  • Danger of grave impairment to physical or mental health of pregnant woman
  • Exceptional distress (at discretion of court)

All abortions must be performed by a physician.[86]

Georgia (country) Georgia 12 weeks Available after 12 weeks on medical and social grounds not specified in law but defined by the Ministry of Labour, Health Care and Social Security.

Counselling is required before an abortion with a three-day waiting time. Parental consent for abortion is required in cases where a girl under 14 years of age is pregnant.[87]

United Kingdom

Great Britain[88]

Not applicable

At any stage:

  • Risk to life of pregnant woman
  • Prevent grave permanent injury to physical or mental health of pregnant woman
  • Substantial risk of serious physical or mental abnormalities in unborn child

Up to 24 weeks:

  • Risk of injury to physical or mental health of pregnant woman
  • Risk of injury to physical or mental health of any existing children of family of pregnant woman[89]
Greece Greece 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Risk to life of pregnant woman
  • Risk of serious and continuous damage to physical or mental health of pregnant woman

Up to 19 weeks:

  • Pregnancy as a result of rape or incest

Up to 24 weeks:

  • Abnormality in unborn child[90]
Hungary Hungary Not applicable

At any stage:

  • Risk to life of pregnant woman
  • Malformation in unborn child renders post-natal life impossible

Up to 12 weeks:

  • Severe danger to health of pregnant woman
  • Probable severe disability or other impairment in unborn child
  • Pregnancy as a result of criminal act
  • Severe crisis situation for pregnant woman

Up to 18 weeks on grounds for 12 weeks where:

  • Pregnant woman partly or fully incapacitated
  • Pregnant woman did not recognise pregnancy in time
  • Term limit lapsed due to failure of health institution or authority

Up to 20 weeks (and 24 weeks for delayed diagnoses):

  • Probability of malformation in unborn child is 50% or more[91]

The Constitution of Hungary, adopted in 2011, protects "the life of the foetus ... from the moment of conception" in its right to life and human dignity.[92]

Iceland Iceland 22 weeks

At any stage:

  • Risk to life of pregnant woman
  • Life of unborn child is not considered to be viable[93]
Republic of Ireland Ireland 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Immediate serious risk to life or of serious harm to health of a pregnant woman (in an emergency)
  • Condition affecting unborn child that is likely to lead to his or her death (either before, or within 28 days of, birth)

Up to viability:[94]

  • Serious risk to life of pregnant woman
  • Serious risk of harm to health of pregnant woman[95]
Italy Italy 12 weeks and 6 days

At any stage:

  • Serious threat to life of pregnant woman from pregnancy or childbirth
  • Diagnosis of pathological processes constituting serious threat to physical or mental health of pregnant woman (e.g. associated with serious abnormalities or malformations in unborn child)

Up to 90 days (12 weeks and 6 days):

  • Serious danger to physical or mental health of pregnant woman due to continuation of pregnancy, childbirth, or motherhood (in view of state of health, economic, social, or family circumstances, or the circumstances in which conception occurred). Page 2, §4,[96]
  • Probability of abnormalities or malformations in unborn child[97]
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan[98] 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Risk to life of pregnant woman
  • Malformation in unborn child

From 12 weeks up to 22 weeks:

  • Death of husband during pregnancy
  • Confinement of pregnant woman or her husband
  • Unemployment of pregnant woman or husband
  • Unmarried status of pregnant woman
  • Deprivation or limitation of parental rights
  • Pregnancy as a result of rape
  • Refugee or forced migrant status of pregnant woman
  • Disabled child in family
  • Divorce during pregnancy
  • Four or more children in family
  • Pregnant woman is under 18 years of age[99]
Latvia Latvia 12 weeks

Up to 12 weeks:

  • Pregnancy as a result of rape

Up to 22 weeks:

  • On medical indications grounds[100]
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein Not applicable
  • Immediate danger to life of pregnant woman
  • Serious danger to life or health of pregnant woman
  • Pregnancy as a result of sexual offence
  • Pregnant woman was under-age at time of conception[101]
Lithuania Lithuania 12 weeks

Up to 22 weeks:

  • Risk to life of pregnant woman
  • Risk to physical health of pregnant woman
  • Risk to mental health of pregnant woman
  • Risk of malformation in unborn child[102]
Luxembourg Luxembourg 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Serious threat to the health or life of pregnant woman
  • Serious threat to the health or life of unborn child[103]
Malta Malta Not applicable

Up to viability:[104]

  • Immediate risk to life of pregnant woman from medical complication
  • Grave jeopardy to health of pregnant woman (which may lead to death from medical complication)[105]
Moldova Moldova 12 weeks

Up to 22 weeks:

  • Pregnant woman aged under 18 or over 40 years
  • Pregnancy as a result of rape, incest or trafficking
  • Divorce during pregnancy
  • Death of husband during pregnancy
  • Imprisonment of one or both spouses
  • Deprivation of parental rights of one or both spouses
  • Migrant status
  • Pregnant woman has 5 or more children
  • Pregnant woman cares for child aged under 2 years (or for one or more family members) with serious disability
  • Combination of lack of housing, lack of financial resources, alcohol or drug abuse, domestic violence and/or homelessness

After 22 weeks:

  • Congenital severe malformation in unborn child considered incompatible with life (defined as an induced premature birth rather than abortion)[106]
Monaco Monaco Not applicable
  • Risk to health of pregnant woman
  • Pregnancy as a result of rape
  • Irreversible health defect in unborn child

Pregnant women living in Monaco are permitted to seek abortion outside the jurisdiction (up to 12 weeks).[107]

Montenegro Montenegro 10 weeks

Up to 20 weeks:

  • Approval by medical committee in cases of serious disability in unborn child, pregnancy as a result of sexual crime, or difficult family circumstances

From 20 to 32 weeks:

  • Approval by ethics committee in cases involving medical reasons or serious disability in unborn child

From 32 weeks:

  • Risk to life of pregnant woman[108]
Netherlands Netherlands 13 weeks

Up to viability defined as 24 weeks (22 weeks in practice) where a pregnant woman attests to a state of distress, to be jointly defined by her and a doctor.[109]

North Macedonia North Macedonia 12 weeks
  • Risk to life and health of pregnant woman
  • Risk to physical or mental health of unborn child
  • Pregnancy as a result of sexual crime
  • Social or economic grounds[110]
Norway Norway 12 weeks

Up to viability defined as 22 weeks:

  • Pregnancy, childbirth or care of child may result in unreasonable adverse physical, mental, or economic impact on the woman
  • Major risk that the unborn child may suffer from serious birth defects
  • Pregnancy as a result of rape
  • The pregnant woman has a mental illness or physical disability[111]
Poland Poland Not applicable
  • Danger to life of pregnant woman
  • Danger to health of pregnant woman
  • Pregnancy as a result of a criminal act[112]
Portugal Portugal 10 weeks

At any stage:

  • Unviable unborn child
  • Danger to life of pregnant woman
  • Serious and lasting danger to physical or mental health of pregnant woman

Up to 12 weeks:

  • Danger to life of pregnant woman
  • Serious and lasting danger to physical or mental health of pregnant woman

Up to 16 weeks:

  • Pregnancy as a result of sexual violence

Up to 24 weeks:

  • Probability of incurable serious disease or congenital malformation in unborn child[113]
Romania Romania 14 weeks

At any stage:

  • For therapeutic purposes in the interests of pregnant woman or unborn child

Up to 24 weeks:

  • For therapeutic purposes in the interests (and performed by a obstetricsian or gynaecologist)[114]
Russia Russia 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Medical reasons (include severe abnormality in unborn child and condition endangering health and life of pregnant woman)

Up to 22 weeks:

  • Pregnancy as a result of rape
  • Imprisonment of pregnant woman
  • Deprivation of parental rights
  • Death or severe disability of husband
  • Social grounds (as decided by special commission)[115]</ref>
San Marino San Marino 12 weeks

At any stage:

  • Risk to life of pregnant woman

Up to viability:

  • Abnormality or malformation in unborn child causing serious risk for health of pregnant woman
  • Pregnancy as a result of sexual crime[116]
Serbia Serbia 10 weeks

At any stage:

  • Risk to life or health of the woman

From 10 weeks to 20 weeks:

  • Pregnancy as a result of sexual crime
  • Psychological trauma to pregnant woman
  • Social and economic reasons[117]
Slovakia Slovakia 12 weeks
  • Danger to life of pregnant woman
  • Danger to health of pregnant woman
  • Danger to healthy development of unborn child
  • Genetic abnormality in development of unborn child[118]

The Constitution of Slovakia, adopted in 1992, states that human life is "worthy of protection even before birth" in its right to life.[119]

Slovenia Slovenia 10 weeks

Up to 28 weeks:

  • Approval by medical committee

Abortions are considered stillbirths after 22 weeks.[120]

Spain Spain 14 weeks

Tur Up to 22 weeks:

  • Risk to life or health of pregnant woman
  • Serious abnormality in unborn child

At any stage:

  • Malformation in unborn child deemed incompatible with life
  • Diagnosis of extreme or incurable disease in unborn child[121]
Sweden Sweden 18 weeks

Up to 22 weeks:

  • Serious medical risk to life or health of pregnant woman[122]
Switzerland Switzerland 12 weeks
  • Prevention of serious physical harm
  • Prevention of serious psychological harm[123]
Turkey Turkey 10 weeks
  • Risk to life of pregnant woman
  • Severe impairment in unborn child[124]
Ukraine Ukraine 12 weeks
  • Medical reasons
  • Pregnancy as a result of rape[72]
Vatican City Vatican City Not applicable

Double effect principle – saving the life of pregnant woman may have the unintended consequence of ending a pregnancy, as permitted under the Italian Penal Code in effect.[125]

Territories and regions

[edit]

The Akrotiri and Dhekelia Sovereign Base Areas of the United Kingdom on the island of Cyprus reflect the Abortion Act 1967 in policy with grounds allowing for aboriton in cases of risk to the life of the pregnant woman, grave permanent injury to her physical or mental health, risk of injury to her physical or mental health (or that of any existing children of the family) and disability in the unborn child; the law was codified in a military ordinance in 1974.[126]

The Faroe Islands, as a self-governing region within the Kingdom of Denmark, permits abortion on the limited grounds of risk to life, risk of harm to the pregnant woman's health, a high risk of a birth defect in the unborn child, or in cases where the pregnancy was caused by sexual crime.[127]

Gibraltar, as a British Overseas Territory, is self-governing in terms of abortion law and allows for the grounds of risk of injury to physical or mental health of the pregnant woman (up to 12 weeks of gestation), and risk to life, grave permanent injury, or a substantial risk of fatal foetal abnormality (life-limiting condition) in the unborn child at any stage.[128]

The Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man have similar laws to neighbouring England and Wales.

In Guernsey, abortion is permitted at any stage for an immediate risk to life, to prevent grave permanent injury, and on disability grounds. Up to 24 weeks, abortion is permitted on broad health grounds, where there would be a risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or her existing children.[129] Guernsey legislation on the issue is also applicable in Alderney.[130]

The law in Jersey is more liberal in early pregnancy, permitted abortion on request up to 12 weeks, but more limited thereafter. Disability-related grounds are limited to serious disabilities diagnosed before viability (at 24 weeks) and a risk to life or grave permanent injury are grounds throughout pregnancy.[131]

The Isle of Man has a highly structured law which allows for 14-week term limit for abortion on request. From 14 weeks to 24 weeks, abortion is legal where the pregnancy was caused by sexual crime or involves serious social grounds for a termination, or substantial risks of serious injury to the woman's life or health, or that the unborn child would be disabled. From 24 week, grounds are limited to risk to life, grave long-term injury, and serious disabilites in the unborn child.[132]

Abortion law in Northern Ireland was previously devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly but was liberalised by the UK Parliament in 2019 when the Assembly was suspended. The law currently allows for a 12-week term limit, in line with the rest of Ireland, and grounds for risk of injury to physical or mental health (up to 24 weeks), and risk to life, grave permanent injury, and disabilities at any stage.[133]

In Scotland, abortion law was devolved to the Scottish Parliament through the Scotland Act 2016 but no changes have followed and the law therefore continues to align with England and Wales.

Contested jurisdictions

[edit]

Several states with limited recognition exist in Europe, following armed conflicts which resulted in their formation. For example, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are internationally recognised as part of Georgia whereas Transnistria has de facto been separated from Moldova.

Social policy in these states may reflect laws introduced under a previous jurisdiction or by a protecting power which guarantees the security of the territory. Laws in Kosovo derive from Yugoslav law with a 10-week term limit for abortion on request[134] and Northern Cyprus has adopted the same policy, although this follows the approach taken in Turkey which solely recognises it as a jurisdiction.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Kessler, Glenn (2023-01-20). "Analysis | The GOP claim that Democrats support abortion 'up to moment of birth'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
  2. ^ Greenberg, Jon. "PolitiFact - Fact-check: How Mississippi's abortion law compares with laws in Europe". @politifact.
  3. ^ See table below for a full outline of abortion laws by jurisdiction in Europe.
  4. ^ "Case of Vo. v France (Application no. 53924/00)". Strasbourg: European Court of Human Rights. 8 July 2004. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  5. ^ Lester, Anne E. (2007). "Lost but not yet Found: Medieval Foundlings and their Care in Northern France, 1200–1500". Proceedings of the Western Society for French History. 35. ISSN 2573-5012.
  6. ^ Dunn, Peter M. (July 1995). "Soranus of Ephesus (circa AD 98-138) and perinatal care in Roman times". Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition. 73 (1). BMJ Publishing Group: 51–52. doi:10.1136/fn.73.1.f51. PMC 2528358. PMID 7552600.
  7. ^ Depierri, Kate P. (March 1968). "One Way of Unearthing the Past". The American Journal of Nursing. 68 (3). Lippincott Williams &#38: 521–524. doi:10.2307/3453443. JSTOR 3453443. PMID 4865614.
  8. ^ Plato (1921) [c. 369 BC]. "149d". Theaetetus. in Harold North Fowler. Plato in Twelve Volumes. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  9. ^ Johannes M. Röskamp, Christian Perspectives On Abortion-Legislation In Past And Present (GRIN Verlag 2005 ISBN 978-3-640-56931-1
  10. ^ Long, George (1870). "Abortio". In William Smith (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Vol. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2010-02-13.
  11. ^ Tertullian (1885) [c. 203]. "Tertullian Refutes, Physiologically, the Notion that the Soul is Introduced After Birth". A Treatise on the Soul. in Philip Schaff. Ante-Nicene Fathers. 3. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
  12. ^ Lake, Kirsopp (1912). "Didache, or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Chapter 2, verse 2". www.wikisource.org. Unknown. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  13. ^ James Kanter (31 July 2022). "Bianca's Story Revisited". EU Scream (Podcast). Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  14. ^ Evangelium Vitae. Vatican City State: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 1995. ISBN 9780851839516. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  15. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church - IntraText. Vatican City State: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 1994. ISBN 9780225666915. Retrieved 11 March 2023. Paragraphs 2270 and 2271 in 'Respect for Human Life' section.
  16. ^ "Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, Problems of bioethics". www.russianorthodoxchurch.ca. Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, Canada. 28 June 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  17. ^ Roach, David (1 February 2017). "Reformers' pro-life views recounted". Baptist Press. Southern Baptist Convention. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  18. ^ "The Lambeth Conference: Resolutions Archive from 1930" (PDF). Anglican Consultative Council. 2005. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  19. ^ The Lambeth Conference 1958: Resolutions and Reports. SPCK and Seabury Press. 1958.
  20. ^ "Lambeth Conference Resolution 22, Responsible Parenthood" (PDF). Anglican Consultative Council. 2005. p. 10. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  21. ^ "(The matter of the Creation of) a human being is put together in the womb of the mother in 40 days(some say 120), and then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period, and then a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then Allah sends an angel who is ordered to write four things...then the soul is breathed into him"
    Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:54:430
  22. ^ Karpenko, Georgii (16 August 2023). "Debunking the Pro-abortion Narrative from a Secular Perspective". Budapest: Hungarian Conservative. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  23. ^ "Núcleo Psol UFMG: Decretos da Comuna de Paris de 1871". Psolufmg.blogspot.com. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  24. ^ Avdeev, Alexandre; Blum, Alain; Troitskaya, Irina (1995). "The History of Abortion Statistics in Russia and the USSR from 1900 to 1991". Population: An English Selection. 7: 39–66. ISSN 1169-1018. JSTOR 2949057.
  25. ^ Stites, Richard (1991). The women's liberation movement in Russia : feminism, nihilism, and bolshevism, 1860-1930. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-10058-6. OCLC 1061494860.
  26. ^ Ferree, Myra Marx (2002). Shaping abortion discourse: democracy and the public sphere in Germany and the United States. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521793841.
  27. ^ Grossmann, Atina (1997). Reforming Sex: The German Movement for Birth Control and Abortion Reform, 1920–1950. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195363517.
  28. ^ Указ Президиума ВС СССР от 23.11.1955 об отмене запрещения абортов [Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council of 11.23.1955 on the abolition of the prohibition of abortion] (in Russian). 23 November 1955 – via Wikisource.
  29. ^ Hungary - ABORTION POLICY - United Nations
  30. ^ "Rätten till abort - Fokus SRHR - Sex och politik - RFSU". Archived from the original on 30 August 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  31. ^ Kligman, Gail. "Political Demography: The Banning of Abortion in Ceausescu's Romania". In Ginsburg, Faye D.; Rapp, Rayna, eds. Conceiving the New World Order: The Global Politics of Reproduction. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995 :234-255. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE KIE/49442.
  32. ^ "Poland abortion: Top court bans almost all terminations". BBC News. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  33. ^ "Constitution of Slovakia, Article 15.1". www.constituteproject.org. Constitute Project. 1992. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  34. ^ "Constitution of Hungary, Article II". www.constituteproject.org. Constitute Project. 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  35. ^ The rocky road to abortion on demand
  36. ^ Pirkko Niemelä. 1988. "Finland." Pg. 152-69 in International Handbook on Abortion. Ed. Paul Sachdev. New York: Greenwood Press
  37. ^ Zhao, Didong (14 July 2022). "Greenland: more abortions than births". Copenhagen Post. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  38. ^ See references in Abortion in Denmark article.
  39. ^ Forskrift om svangerskapsavbrudd (abortforskriften) § 18 (archive)
  40. ^ Christine Svendsen (12 May 2012) Aborterte fostre levde i over en time før hjertet hadde sluttet å slå NRK. Retrieved 3 January 2013 (in Norwegian)
  41. ^ R v Bourne [1939] 1 KB 687, [1938] 3 All ER 615, Court of Criminal Appeal
  42. ^ The Government of Ireland Act 1920 transferred matters of criminal law to Northern Ireland, governed by the socially conservative Ulster Unionist Party until 1972, and Southern Ireland which subsequently became the independent the Republic of Ireland under Catholic influence. The UK Parliament decided not to impose changes in abortion law but proceeded with liberalisation in 2019 when the locally-elected Northern Ireland Assembly was not operating.
  43. ^ Jann, Edmund C. (1975). "The abortion decision of February 25, 1975 of the Federal Constitutional Court, Federal Republic of Germany". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  44. ^ Austria. Federal Law of 23 January 1974. (Bundesgesetzblatt, No. 60, 1974.)
  45. ^ Acosta, Luis; Yatsunska-Poff, Olena; Zeldin, Wendy; Boring, Nicolas; Hofverberg, Elin; Feikert-Ahalt, Clare; Figueroa, Dante; Soares, Eduardo; Roudik, Peter; Rodriguez-Ferrand, Graciela (January 2015). "Abortion Legislation in Europe". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  46. ^ Abortion Policies: A Global Review (DOC). Vol. 2. United Nations Population Division. 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  47. ^ Zaken, Ministerie van Algemene (2015-05-11). "Abortion". www.government.nl. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  48. ^ Vicente, Lisa Ferreira (2020-04-06). "Aborto por opção da mulher: a experiência portuguesa da implementação da Rede Nacional". Cadernos de Saúde Pública (in Portuguese). 36 (Suppl 1): e00036219. doi:10.1590/0102-311x00036219. ISSN 0102-311X. PMID 32267398.
  49. ^ "Ley Orgánica 9/1985, del 5 de julio, de reforma del Artículo 417 bis del Código Penal". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  50. ^ Ioannidi-Kapolou, Elizabeth (January 2004). "Use of Contraception and Abortion in Greece: A Review". Reproductive Health Matters. 12 (sup24): 174–183. doi:10.1016/s0968-8080(04)24001-0. ISSN 0968-8080. PMID 15938171. S2CID 10077100.
  51. ^ a b Montgomery, Paul L. (5 April 1990). "Belgian King, Unable to Sign Abortion Law, Takes Day Off". The New York Times on the Web: A4. PMID 11647425. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  52. ^ Full vote results by Swiss canton: http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/pore/va/20020602/can487.html
  53. ^ Page, Chris. "Northern Ireland abortion and same-sex marriage laws change". BBC News. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  54. ^ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  55. ^ "France makes abortion a constitutional right". 2024-03-04. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  56. ^ Europe’s Abortion Laws: A Comparative Overview, Center for Reproductive Rights
  57. ^ "1973 Danish abortion law Lovitidende for Kongeriget Danmark". Harvard Law. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
  58. ^ Rämö, Aurora (28 May 2018). "Suomessa abortin saa helposti, vaikka laki on yksi Euroopan tiukimmista". Suomen Kuvalehti. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  59. ^ a b "Abortion legislation in Europe" (PDF). International Planned Parenthood Federation. January 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 13, 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  60. ^ Tamma, Paola (24 May 2018). "Even where abortion is legal, access is not granted". VoxEurop/EDJNet. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  61. ^ "Interruption volontaire de grossesse (IVG)". 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  62. ^ Worrell, Marc. "Serbia: abortion law". Women on Waves.
  63. ^ "Abortion statistics, England and Wales: 2021, Abortions for women from the Irish Republic". www.gov.uk. Department of Health. 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  64. ^ Information provided in table below and related sources.
  65. ^ "Abortion statistics, England and Wales: 2021". Department of Health and Social Care. 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  66. ^ "Abortion legislation in Europe" (PDF). IPPF Europe. September 2012. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  67. ^ "Nouveau Code Palénal" (PDF). www.legislationonline.org. OSCE. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  68. ^ "Country Profile: Armenia". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  69. ^ "Federal Law of 23 January 1974. (Bundesgesetzblatt, No. 60, 1974.)". Harvard University. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  70. ^ "Country Profile: Azerbaijan". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  71. ^ "Gender-Biased Sex Selection". Baku: UN Population Fund. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  72. ^ a b Denisov, Boris P; Sakevich, Victoria I; Jasilioniene, Aiva (November 2012). "Divergent Trends in Abortion and Birth Control Practices in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine". PLOS ONE. 7 (11): 4. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...749986D. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049986. PMC 3542819. PMID 23349656.
  73. ^ "How an abortion works". www.vub.be. Brussels: VUB University. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  74. ^ "Country Profile: Bosnia and Herzegovina". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  75. ^ "Abortion legislation in Europe" (PDF). IPPF Europe. 2012. pp. 15–16. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  76. ^ "Country Profile: Bulgaria". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  77. ^ "Contraception, sterilization, abortion, and artificial insemination, Law No. 1252-1978 of April 21, 1978 on health measures to implement the right to a free decision regarding the birth of children (Narodne Novine, May 4, 1978, No. 18 at 423-426), Articles 1-2, 15-28, 35-38 &, 41-44.*". Croatia’s Abortion Provisions. Centre for Reproductive Rights. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  78. ^ De facto in territory outside the Sovereign Base Areas and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (jurisdiction recognised only by Turkey).
  79. ^ "Abortion Laws in Cyprus: A Comprehensive Overview". Laws of Cyprus. Limassol: Chambers & Co. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  80. ^ "Country Profile: Czech Republic". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  81. ^ "Country Profile: Denmark". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  82. ^ East Tallinn Central Hospital (7 December 2022). "Termination of pregnancy, (i.e. abortion)". www.eesti.ee. Tallinn: Government of Estonia. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  83. ^ "Abortion". www.infofinland.fi. City of Helsinki. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  84. ^ "Interruption médicale de grossesse (IMG)". 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  85. ^ "Article 34: Relations between Parliament and the Government". Constitution of France. Government of France. 10 March 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024. La loi détermine les conditions dans lesquelles s'exerce la liberté garantie à la femme d'avoir recours à une interruption volontaire de grossesse.
  86. ^ "Articles 218 & 219, German Criminal Code". www.gesetze-im-internet.de. Federal Office of Justice. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  87. ^ "Country Profile: Georgia". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  88. ^ Legislation in Scotland is equivalent to England and Wales but devolved to Scottish Parliament. See further detail on Northern Ireland, Crown Dependencies and other territories below
  89. ^ "Abortion statistics England and Wales 2020, Statutory grounds for abortion". www.gov.uk. Department of Health and Social Care. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  90. ^ "Country Profile: Greece". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  91. ^ "Act LXXIX of 1992 on the protection of fetal life". www.reproductiverights.org. Centre for Reproductive Rights. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  92. ^ "Fundamental Law of Hungary, Article II". Parliament of Hungary. Ministry of Justice. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  93. ^ "Termination of Pregnancy Act, No. 43/2019". www.government.is. Government of Iceland. 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  94. ^ Defined as the point in a pregnancy at which, in the reasonable opinion of a medical practitioner, the unborn child is capable of survival outside the uterus without extraordinary life-sustaining measures (Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, Part 2, clause 8).
  95. ^ "Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018". Irish Statute Book. Government of Ireland. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  96. ^ "Law No. 194 of 22 May 1978 on the social protection of motherhood and the voluntary termination of pregnancy" (PDF). www.columbia.edu. Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana. 22 May 1978. pp. 3642–3646. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  97. ^ "Law No. 194 of 22 May 1978 on the social protection of motherhood and the voluntary termination of pregnancy" (PDF). www.columbia.edu. Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana. 22 May 1978. pp. 3642–3646. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  98. ^ The sections of the West Kazakhstan and Atyrau regions, west of the Ural River, are considered part of Eastern Europe.
  99. ^ "Country Profile: Kazakhstan". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  100. ^ "Country Profile: Latvia". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  101. ^ "Criminal Code of 24 June 1987 (as of 1 January 2021)" (PDF). www.legislationline.org. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  102. ^ "Country Profile: Lithuania". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  103. ^ "Requesting a voluntary termination of pregnancy". Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  104. ^ Defined as the point in a pregnancy at which "the foetus is capable of living outside the uterus according to current medical practices" (Criminal Code, Article 243B)
  105. ^ Criminal Code of Malta, Articles 241-243. Valletta, Malta: Government of Malta. p. 122. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  106. ^ "Country Profile: Moldova". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  107. ^ "Monaco to decriminalise abortion, but no legalisation". AFP. AFP. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  108. ^ "Country Profile: Montenegro". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  109. ^ "Country Profile: Netherlands". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  110. ^ "Country Profile: North Macedonia". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  111. ^ "Country Profile: Norway". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  112. ^ "Country Profile: Poland". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  113. ^ "Country Profile: Portugal". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  114. ^ "Country Profile: Romania". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  115. ^ "Country Profile: Russian Federation". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  116. ^ "Law No. 127 of 7 September 2022 - Regulating voluntary termination of pregnancy". Consiglio Grande a Generale. Republic of San Marino. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  117. ^ "Country Profile: Serbia". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  118. ^ "Country Profile: Slovakia". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  119. ^ "Constitution of Slovakia". Comparative Constitutions Project. University of Texas at Austin & University of Chicago. 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  120. ^ "Country Profile: Slovenia". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  121. ^ "Country Profile: Spain". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  122. ^ "Country Profile: Sweden". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  123. ^ "Country Profile: Switzerland". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  124. ^ "Country Profile: Türkiye". Global Abortion Policies Database. World Health Organization. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  125. ^ See paragraphs 2270-2275, Catechism of the Catholic Church.
  126. ^ "Ordinance 9 of 1974" (PDF). Sovereign Base Administration. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  127. ^ "Question S 1361 for the minister of justice" (in Danish). Folketinget. 9 January 2004. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  128. ^ Crimes (Amendment) Act 2019 (PDF). Government of Gibraltar. 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  129. ^ "Abortion (Guernsey) Law 1997 (as amended)". States of Guernsey Legal Resources. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  130. ^ "Abortion (Alderney) Law 2022". States of Guernsey Legal Resources. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  131. ^ "Termination of Pregnancy (Jersey) Law 1997". Jersey Legal Information Board. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  132. ^ "Abortion Reform Act 2019" (PDF). Isle of Man Government. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  133. ^ "Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020". www.legislation.gov.uk. National Archives. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  134. ^ "Pregnancy and Family Planning in Kosovo: A Qualitative Study" (PDF). UNFPA. UNFPA & University of Groningen. December 2006. p. 31. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
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