How abortion access has changed around the world

The center categorizes abortion laws into five levels of stringency, ranging from outright prohibition to abortion-on-request. In between are countries that allow abortions when the life or health of the woman is at risk. Other countries go beyond health, taking broad social and economic factors into account when considering the impact of pregnancy and childbearing. These factors can include being unable to take care of a child because of work, housing or financial strains.

Countries that allow abortion may have gestational limits in place, after which procedures are no longer permitted, as well as parental or spousal approval requirements.

Since 1994, 18 countries that previously prohibited abortion loosened their restrictions.

An additional seven countries that allowed abortion when the life of the woman was at risk relaxed their laws as well. These include Ireland, where a 2018 referendum overturned one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe.

Twelve countries that limited abortion to cases where the health of the woman was at risk, including Spain, South Africa and Argentina, loosened their laws to either allow abortions for social and economic reasons or upon request.

Other countries have relaxed abortion laws in more incremental ways, by adding exceptions for rape, incest or fetal impairment, for instance.

Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, the U.S. had relatively liberal abortion laws, allowing the procedure up until the viability of the fetus. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June ending the constitutional right to abortion leaves states to regulate access. Many are now expected to enact restrictions, with 16 states limiting abortion primarily to cases where a woman’s life or health is at risk.

While some states are tightening their laws, others are seeking to strengthen abortion access after Roe v. Wade. Vermont and California are moving forward with November ballot measures that would codify the right to abortion in their constitutions. New York state is seeking a similar amendment, though it may not go before voters until 2024.

With the Supreme Court decision, the U.S. is one of a small number of countries where abortion laws are being tightened. These include Poland, which in 2020 declared the procedure unconstitutional when conducted because of fetal abnormalities.

In 1998, El Salvador changed its law to remove all exceptions to its abortion prohibition. Previously, abortion was permitted to save a woman’s life, and in cases of rape and fetal impairment. Nicaragua eliminated all exceptions to its abortion ban in 2006.

How abortion laws compare around the world

Of the 195 countries for which data is available, 12% prohibit abortion outright. About 21% primarily restrict it to instances where the woman’s life is at risk. Another 24% limit it to instances where the woman’s health is at risk, which depending on the laws, can include mental as well as physical health.

An additional 6% of countries allow abortion for broad social and economic reasons. About 37% of locations permit abortion on request, often with gestational limits.

Countries in more lenient categories allow the exceptions available in less lenient ones. So countries that permit abortions for health reasons also permit them when the life of the mother is at risk. And countries that allow abortions on socioeconomic grounds also allow them in cases of risk to health or life.

Many of the countries with more restrictive abortion laws are in Africa, Latin America or the Middle East. Those with less restrictive laws tend to be clustered in Europe and Asia.

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision, Ohio, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee now ban abortions at six weeks of pregnancy, with Iowa possibly following suit. Tennessee is expected to remove its gestational period soon, restricting abortion in all stages of pregnancy. In other nations with gestational limits, 12 weeks into pregnancy is the most common cutoff. Turkey, Portugal, Croatia and Guyana are among those with less than 12-week bans.

In some states, abortion access is limited even where the law allows it, such as in Arizona, where all clinics are closed pending state law clarification.

Meanwhile, Kansas voters on Tuesday rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have ended protections for abortion. Indiana’s legislature on Friday passed a ban with exceptions limited to cases of rape and incest, and to protect the life and physical health of the mother.

How abortion rates have changed

Globally, abortion rates have more or less held steady over the past 30 years. There were an estimated 40 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15–49 from 1990 to 1994. From 2015 to 2019, there were 39, according to a study by researchers at the Guttmacher Institute.

Regionally, abortion rates have fallen in Europe and North America, while rising in much of Asia as well as sub-Saharan Africa.

Determining precise abortion rates can be challenging in some countries, particularly those with restrictive laws.

That abortion rates haven’t risen more in the past three decades, despite increasingly liberal laws, is due in part to an overall drop in unintended pregnancies worldwide, according to Jonathan Bearak of the Guttmacher Institute, lead author of the study.

The study also found that, on average, abortion has become more common in countries that restrict it. Some of the rise may be because of the increased use of misoprostol. The medication, which can terminate pregnancies, may be available on the black market in countries that restrict abortion. This likely contributes to more of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion in places where it is restricted, Dr. Bearak said.