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_Abortion laws WorldwideLegalization of abortion can prevent the unnecessary suffering and death of women. Restrictive abortion laws violate women's human rights based on agreements made at the UN International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 1 & 3 &12 &19 & 27.1).
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Prior to the beginning of the 19th century, there were no abortion laws in
existence. In 1869 Pope Pius IX declared that ensoulement occurs at conception.
As a result the laws in the 19th century did not allow any termination of
pregnancy. These laws form the basis of the restrictive legislation on abortion
that still exist in many developing countries. Between 1950 and 1985 almost all
developed countries liberalized their abortion laws for reasons of human rights
and safety. Where abortion is still illegal this is often due to old colonial
laws and not always an expression of the opinion of the local population.
Color index to the map above: RED Abortion illegal in all circumstances or permitted only to save a woman's life. PINK Abortion legally permitted only to save a woman's life or protect her physical health. YELLOW Abortion legally permitted only to protect mental health. BLUE Abortion legally permitted on socioeconomic grounds WHITE Abortion on request Red countries on the map South America: Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Venezuela,Sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Benin, Central African Rep.Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Gabon, Guinea- Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda. Middle East and North Africa: Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Sudan (r), Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. Asia and Pacific: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka. Europe:Ireland, Malta. PINK countries on the map The Americas and the Caribbean: Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay Sub-Saharan Africa: Burkino Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe Middle East and North Africa: Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia Asia and Pacific: Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand Europe: Poland |
ABORTION LAWS OF THE WORLD Links to the abortion laws of the following countries:
Afghanistan Angola Antigua Argentina Austria Bahamas Belgium Bolivia Brazil Brunei Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Chile Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Eritrea Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Iran (Islamic Republic of) Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Kenya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritius Mexico Morocco Myanmar Netherlands Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Panama Paraguay Peru Rwanda Saint Lucia St. Kitts and Nevis Senegal Slovakia Tanzania Trinidad and Tobago Turkey Uganda United Kingdom Uruguay Venezuela Zimbabwe |