Approximately 25% of the world’s population lives in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws, mostly in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Legalization of abortion can prevent the unnecessary suffering and deaths 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).
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 were changed to prohibit 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. Restrictive abortion laws in some countries are often due to old colonial laws.
South America:
Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Gustamala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nigaragua, 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, Mauretania, 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.
COUNTRIES ABORTION LEGALLY PERMITTED ONLY TO SAVE A WOMAN’S LIFE OR PROTECT HER PHYSICAL HEALTH.
The Americas and the Caribbean:
Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru,
Sub-Saharan Africa:
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
Middle East and North Africa:
Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabi
Asia and Pacific:
Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand
Europe:
Poland
The abortion debate has intensified in South and Central America as the Zika virus, linked to severe birth defects, spreads throughout the region.
Latin America has the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, according to Jennifer Kates, vice president and director of global health and HIV Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on U.S. and global health issues.
Zika Posing a Crisis For Motherhood
But it’s hardly alone. Other global regions with restrictive abortion laws include the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Most nations, about 96 percent, permit abortion to save a woman’s life, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center analysis of 196 countries based on 2013 United Nations data. The six countries that outlaw abortions under any circumstances are Chile, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Vatican City and Malta, according to Pew.
If history is any guide, however, countries may see a loosening of restrictions in coming years. Laws governing abortion have become more liberal worldwide in recent decades, Kates and others say.
“Over the last 20 years, over 30 countries have liberalized their abortion laws,” says Katherine Mayall, global advocacy adviser for the Center for Women’s Reproductive Rights, a legal advocacy nonprofit pushing for more reproductive rights worldwide.
Brazil could be one of those countries. In the South American nation, where nearly 1.5 million people have caught Zika, abortion is illegal except in cases of rape or when a woman’s life is in danger. But Brazil’s legal scholars plan to ask the country’s highest court to allow pregnant women to be permitted to have abortions when their fetuses are found to have abnormally small heads, according to The New York Times.
Below are 9 countries with some of the world’s most restrictive abortion laws:
Country and Abortion Policy
- Brazil Permitted only in case of rape, to save a woman’s life, a few other limited circumstances
- Chile Illegal without exception
- Ireland Allowed only to save a woman’s life
- Nigeria Allowed only to save a woman’s life and in some cases health
- Iran Allowed only to save a woman’s life
- Saudi Arabia Allowed only to save a woman’s life or health, requires spouse/parental approval
- Indonesia Allowed only in cases of rape, to save a woman’s life, fetal impairment, requires spouse approval
- Philippines Illegal without exception
- Argentina Allowed only to save a woman’s life, health and in cases of rape
