Abortion laws: As US’s legal battle ends with Roe vs. Wade, here are some abortion laws around the world

The United States Supreme Court on Friday overturned its 50-year-old Roe vs. Wade ruling. The 1973 decision had provided a constitutional right to abortion and this ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states in the USA, although the timing of those laws taking effect varies. Protests have broken out across the nation after the country’s most senior legal body announced its decision.

The decision came months after a report that the U.S. Supreme Court might override Roe vs. Wade was leaked in early May. 26 conservative states are now certain or considered likely to introduce new abortion restrictions or bans. 13 states have already passed so-called trigger laws, which will automatically outlaw abortion following the Supreme Court’s ruling. Restrictions were put into place immediately in Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

The ruling has shed light on abortion laws in other nations, notably India, where abortion has been allowed for the past 50 years if certain conditions are met. Other countries with a different set of laws are also examined.

What is the legal stance in India?

Abortion is legal in India, and women can seek one before 20 weeks of their pregnancy are completed. Under the 1971 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP), abortion is made legal under certain defined circumstances when conducted by licensed medical professionals.

Some of the conditions under which abortion is permitted in India include when the continuance of pregnancy can potentially risk the life of the pregnant woman or place her physical and mental health in grave danger. Other times when an abortion is allowed is when there is a substantial risk that if the child were born, then it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities.

While women are allowed abortions up to 20 weeks, this time frame can be extended up to 24 weeks under certain given circumstances. Pregnancy can be terminated under the opinion of one doctor if it’s reported up to 20 weeks prior. If the pregnancy is to be aborted before 24 weeks, it requires the opinion of two doctors.

The gestation period can be extended from 20 weeks to 24 weeks when women are survivors of sexual assault or rape or incest, minors, there’s a change of marital status during a pregnancy that includes widowhood or divorce, women with physical disabilities, those who are mentally ill, women pregnant with a child who has developed fetal abnormalities that can pose a substantial risk of being incompatible with life and women with pregnancy in humanitarian settings or disasters or emergencies.

To ensure that the MTP Act is not abused, the Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT) was passed in India in 1994. As a result of this act, women can have access to abortions without the approval of their spouse, while not being forced to get an abortion by their spouse if she does not wish to do so. PCPNDT was also put into place to deal with female foeticide, a rooted problem in the Indian social structure.

According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, a global advocacy group, abortions are illegal in 24 countries, which puts nearly 90 million or five per cent of women of reproductive age in a vulnerable position. Some of these nations include Senegal, Mauritania, Egypt, Laos, the Philippines, El Salvador, Honduras, Poland and Malta.

In some of these countries, women can be imprisoned for getting abortions. For instance, in El Salvador, many women who have undergone abortions have been found guilty of “aggravated homicide,” including in cases of miscarriage. El Salvador bans abortions in all cases and terminating a pregnancy can send a woman to jail for up to eight years. However, judges often find women guilty of aggravated homicide instead, which can then increase the imprisonment punishment to up to 50 years.

Malta is the only country in the European Union to enforce a total ban on abortions. The only option for those seeking to terminate a pregnancy is to buy illegal abortion medication online or seek a termination overseas. The country witnessed a massive pro-choice movement last year calling for Malta’s centuries-old abortion laws to be reversed.

In Poland, abortions are only permitted in cases of rape or incest or when a mother’s life is in danger. In Nigeria, the procedure is only allowed when the mother’s life is at risk, too. Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe and Botswana, abortions can be carried out when cases of rape and incest are reported or when there are foetal defects.

Abortions are allowed in Canada, Australia and a greater part of Europe with fewer restrictions apart from gestational limits. In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Canada’s previous limited abortion laws as unconstitutional. The law was found to violate a woman’s right to “life, liberty and security of person.”

Chief Justice Brian Dickson wrote, “Forcing a woman, by the threat of criminal sanction to carry a foetus to term unless she meets certain criteria unrelated to her own priorities and aspirations, is a profound interference with a woman’s body and thus a violation of her security of the person.”

Since then, Canada has become a part of a small group of countries that allow abortions without any restrictions. Abortion is treated like any other medical procedure in the country.

While most European countries permit abortions within gestational limits, which most commonly is around 12-14 weeks, some countries allow abortions to take place till a much later date, as well. For instance, in the United Kingdom, pregnancy can be terminated right up until the birth in cases of foetal disability. In 2019, the neighbouring nation, Ireland, became the last remaining UK nation to lift the ban on abortions.

What next?

With anti-abortion laws already being enforced in different states in the U.S, the federal government is believed to be the most effective protection against state abortion bans. 85 per cent of Americans believe that abortions should be legal under most or all circumstances.

The House of Representatives and the White House believe in making abortions accessible to their citizens too, but if they pass an abortion rights law in the Senate, it will most likely be blocked by the Republicans. The next midterm elections could be swayed by the issue, but for now, it looks like time will only decide the future of women’s rights in the States.