The repeal of Roe v. Wade would set the US apart from other leading democracies. Here’s How Some Important Countries View Abortion
What is less certain is whether the 1973 watershed ruling will be overturned – an outcome that has worried women’s rights activists ever since – President Donald Trump has appointed three leftist judges. .
Depending on the path the court takes, large swaths of the United States could soon be isolated from most advanced economies on the issue of reproductive rights.
The Roe Standard shows that a woman’s right to abortion is enshrined in the Constitution and states that states cannot ban abortion unless the fetus is alive or able to exist outside the womb. The current standard of viability is considered gestational age between 22 and 24 weeks.
According to the World Health Organization, the United States is currently among 55 countries where abortion is legal on request of a pregnant woman without justification.
But restrictions on abortion at the state level mean that access to abortion is much harder in some places than in others. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last month about a controversial Texas law that bans abortions as early as six weeks — before many mothers even know they’re pregnant.
On paper, a move to uphold Mississippi’s 15-week mark wouldn’t be in contrast to many comparable countries where similar limits exist – but the law makes no exceptions, even in the case of rape or incest. rotation, which rarely happens in the Western World.
If the court goes further and completely terminates Roe v. Wade, the United States will quickly become home to some of the strictest abortion laws of any Western country.
Here’s how some countries around the world approach abortion.
Major US allies have greater access to abortion
Of the 36 countries that the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has identified as developed economies, all but two – Poland and Malta – allow abortions on demand or for health reasons. health and socioeconomics broadly, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), which campaigns to improve access to abortion and legal oversight around the world.
A federal end to abortion protections would cause regions of the United States to join that list.
The United States’ northern neighbor, Canada, is one of the few countries that allows abortion at any point during pregnancy. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has criticized moves in US states that make it harder to access abortion facilities.
Performing abortions in hospitals and private clinics; In most cases, the procedure is covered by provincial government health insurance plans, which means they are essentially free. But the lack of national abortion laws in Canada has made access to services across the country patchy.
Most European Union countries – including those in the G7 – allow abortions with a gestational age limit, most commonly 12 weeks, according to monitoring charities including the CRR. Exceptions after that period are usually allowed for certain reasons, such as if the pregnancy or delivery jeopardizes the mother’s health.
Opposition to this procedure is generally less common in these countries than in the United States.
And importantly, there are few developed countries that do not perform abortions in extreme cases, such as when a woman is the victim of rape or incest. Mississippi law prohibits abortion after 15 weeks, even in those cases.
Anti-abortion protests have occasionally taken place in countries including Britain, where some councils have responded by reducing protesters’ ability to interact with those entering the clinic.
Activists around the EU have also called for an easing of restrictions in their countries; In Germany, for example, abortion is allowed up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, but those who want the procedure must attend a mandatory counseling session, followed by a mandatory three-day waiting period. Doctors there are also accused of sharing details about the abortion service they provide because any “advertising” of abortion is against the law.
Japan, along with countries like Finland and India, makes regulations on abortion in cases of rape or risk to a woman’s health, but also on the basis of broader socioeconomic.
In developed countries where abortion is legal, no country has set a pregnancy limit as early as six weeks – as Texas law requires – under the CRR.
Among democracies comparable to the US, Australia’s laws are among the most similar. As in the US, access to abortion varies in each Australian state and territory – and until recently, some regions have criminalized the procedure.
But while some US states are gradually restricting abortion laws, Australia is going in the opposite direction. As of 2018, the procedure has been canceled in both Queensland and New South Wales; Both states allow abortions up to 22 weeks. South Australia became the last state to end abortion this year.
U.S. states could join a range of areas that make abortion less accessible
The United States is not the only country where abortion rights are at stake; Among the more conservative classes of society around the world, populist and authoritarian governments have also moved to limit procedural access.
Currently in Poland abortion is only allowed in cases of rape, incest or when the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life.
The Polish government has made abortion a thorny issue since it came to power in 2015, attracting social conservatives in the overwhelmingly Catholic country, but sparking protests. love in the country’s more liberal cities.
Slovakia has tried to follow Poland’s lead, but its parliament has rejected a number of bills proposing to limit reproductive rights over the past two years.
Croatia and Italy have seen widespread use of the “conscience clause”, which allows for women’s rights, said Hillary Margolis, senior researcher for the women’s division at Human Rights Watch (HRW). The supplier refuses to terminate the contract because of ethical objections.
Several Mexican states have also outlawed most abortions. But the country is going in the opposite direction of its northern neighbour; In September, a landmark ruling from Mexico’s top court found punishing abortion unconstitutional, in a decision that is expected to set a precedent for the legal status of abortion across the country. country.
In Central and South America, abortion laws are generally very strict. In Brazil, for example, the procedure is illegal except in certain cases, such as birth defects or if the abortion is due to rape, according to HRW. HRW says women and girls who end up pregnant in other cases can face up to three years behind bars.
In Nicaragua and El Salvador, abortion is completely illegal under all circumstances, and prison sentences in the second country can be as long as 40 years. Human rights organization Amnesty International said last year in relation to El Salvador: “Such laws can lead to torture, discrimination and denial of some of the most basic human rights to life and human dignity. Products”. In recent years, some rulings have been overturned, with some women being released from prison after serving part of their lengthy sentences.
But other South American states have moved to allow abortion. Argentina passed legislation allowing for the procedure in December, while in Chile, where abortion was outright banned until 2017, an ongoing debate about deregulation.
