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These regulations allow abortion up to 12 weeks on request, and after that on specific grounds of severe foetal impairment and fatal foetal abnormalities. The Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations, 2020 came into effect in March 2020.

Northern Ireland decriminalised abortion in 2019 following an international human rights inquiry into its abortion laws and subsequent intervention from Westminster. Decriminalisation permits abortion without penalty and prioritises the safety of pregnant people in making health decisions. The most liberal abortion laws are those where abortion has been removed from criminal law entirely. But following media and public outcry, she was finally permitted to have an abortion in Croatia. After four denials by Croatian hospitals, the woman was advised by doctors to travel to neighbouring Slovenia. Despite this, anti-choice sentiment in the country recently led to a woman being denied an abortion after her foetus was diagnosed with a serious brain tumour. In some regimes, abortion can be performed later in pregnancy based on the health of the foetus, especially in cases of serious anomaly. In other regions, such as Ghana or Bolivia, language referring to mental health is explicitly included in legislation, which can widen abortion access. Where health is interpreted more restrictively, such as in Zimbabwe, Morocco or Peru, abortion may only be available if a pregnant person’s physical health is in danger. Doctors may take account of the pregnant woman’s actual or reasonably foreseeable life circumstances when making a decision about the impact of continuing a pregnancy. And Britain’s 1967 Abortion Act is an example of a broad interpretation of health that includes wellbeing. Some laws allow for abortion on socioeconomic grounds, for example in Finland. Often, restrictions are structured around gestational time limits, such as allowing abortion only in the first trimester. While countries like the US, Poland and Russia are taking steps backward, gains are being made in places such as Ireland, Colombia and Argentina.Ībortion restrictions range from laws where abortion is permitted only to protect the pregnant person’s life or health, to decriminalising abortion entirely.

The US Supreme Court ruling that has overturned Roe vs Wade – the landmark 1973 decision that protected a woman’s right to have an abortion – marks a significant regression for abortion access.

The global landscape of reproductive rights is constantly shifting.