Abortion law around the world: Progress and pushback

American Journal of Public Health

Volumn 103, Issue 4, 2013, Pages 585-589

  Finer, Louise ^a   Fine, Johanna B ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; FEMALE; HEALTH; HEALTH CARE DELIVERY; HUMAN; INDUCED ABORTION; LEGAL ASPECT; PERSONAL AUTONOMY; PREGNANCY; PUBLIC HEALTH; REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS; WOMEN'S HEALTH; WOMEN'S RIGHTS;

ABORTION, INDUCED; FEMALE; HEALTH SERVICES ACCESSIBILITY; HUMANS; PERSONAL AUTONOMY; PREGNANCY; PUBLIC HEALTH; REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS; WOMEN'S HEALTH; WOMEN'S RIGHTS; WORLD HEALTH;

MLCS; MLOWN;

EID: 84875149152     PISSN: 00900036     EISSN: 15410048     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301197     Document Type: Article

References (82)

1. Center for Reproductive Rights, "The World's Abortion Laws 2012," http://worldabortionlaws.com (accessed September 20, 2012).
2. Center for Reproductive Rights, The World's Abortion Laws 2011 (New York, 2011).
3. Stanley K. Henshaw, "Induced Abortion: A World Review, 1990," Family Planning Perspectives 22, no. 2 (1990): 76-89.
4. P. 753 in Julia L. Ernst, Laura Katzive, and Erica Smock, "The Global Pattern of U.S. Initiatives Curtailing Women's Reproductive Rights: A Perspective on the Increasingly Anti-Choice Mosaic," Journal of Constitutional Law 6, no. 4 (2004): 752-795.
5. P. 60 in Anika Rahman, Laura Katzive, and Stanley K. Henshaw, "A Global Review of Laws on Induced Abortion, 1985-1997," International Family Planning Perspectives 24, no. 2 (1998): 56-64.
6. Rahman et al., "Global Review of Laws; Reed Boland and Laura Katzive, "Developments in Laws on Induced Abortion: 1998-2007," International Family Planning Perspectives 34, no. 3 (2008):110-120;
7. Center for Reproductive Rights, Abortion Worldwide: 17 Years of Reform (New York, 2011), http://reproductiverights.org/sites/crr.civicactions.net/ files/documents/pub-bp-17-years.pdf (accessed September 20, 2012);
8. Rebecca J. Cook, Bernard M. Dickens, and Laura E. Bliss, "International Developments in Abortion Law From 1988 to 1998," American Journal of Public Health 89, no. 4 (1999): 579-586.
9. For example, Poland, Malta, and the Republic of Korea
10. Center for Reproductive Rights, "World's Abortion Laws 2012."
11. Boland and Katzive, "Developments in Laws: 1998-2007," 110.
12. Henshaw, "Induced Abortion: 1990," 78.
13. Boland and Katzive, "Developments in Laws: 1998-2007," 110.
14. Ley Orgánica 2/2010, de salud sexual y reproductiva y de la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo [Organic law 2/2010, on sexual and reproductive health and the voluntary interruption of pregnancy], B.O.E. (Spain), no. 55 (March 4, 2010): 21001-21014.
15. Boland and Katzive, "Developments in Laws: 1998-2007," 117;
16. Cook et al., "International Developments from 1988 to 1998," 584;
17. Rebecca J. Cook and Bernard M. Dickens, "Human Rights Dynamics of Abortion Law Reform," Human Rights Quarterly 25, no. 1 (2003):1-59;
18. Leila Hessini, "Global Progress in Abortion Advocacy and Policy: An Assessment of the Decade Since ICPD," Reproductive Health Matters 13, no. 25 (2005): 88-100.
19. Ernst et al., "Global Pattern of U.S. Initiatives," 753.
20. "Sejm odrzucił obywatelski projekt zakazujacy aborcji," Gazeta Wyborcza, August 31, 2011, http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/1, 114873,10209867,Sejm-odrzucil-obywatelski-projekt-zakazujacy-aborcji.html (accessed September 20, 2012).
21. Some laws require that women receive counseling before undergoing an abortion. Rather than providing a neutral discussion of the nature and risks of abortion, such counseling can be intended to discourage women from undergoing an abortion by providing inaccurate information. Rahman et al., "Global Review: 1985-1997," 59.
22. Some laws establish waiting or reflection periods during which women must wait one to several days before being permitted to undergo an abortion. Cook et al., "International Developments: 1988 to 1998," 584.
23. "Some laws require a woman or girl to obtain the consent of her spouse or parent before undergoing an abortion, whereas others require abortion providers to secure approval from another physician, medical committee or court before performing an abortion" (p. 73). Reed Boland, "Second Trimester Abortion Laws Globally: Actuality, Trends and Recommendations," Reproductive Health Matters 18, no. 36 (2010): 67-89.
24. For example, in 2002, the Philippines' Food and Drug Administration issued a circular prohibiting the distribution, sale, and use of misoprostol. Bureau of Food and Drugs Advisory 2002-02 (August 12, 2002) (on file with the Center for Reproductive Rights).
25. Guttmacher Institute, "State Policies in Brief: Counseling and Waiting Periods for Abortion"; 2012, http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/ spibs/spib-MWPApdf (accessed September 20, 2012).
26. Guttmacher Institute, "News in Context: State Legislative Trends at Midyear 2012," http://www.guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2012/07/10/index. html (accessed September 20, 2012).
27. "Federelnii Zakon Rossiiskoi Federatzii ot 21 noiabria 2011 g. N 323-F3: 'Ob osnovah ohranai grajdan v Rossiiskoi Federatzii,'" http://www.rg.ru/2011/11/23/zdorovie-dok.html (accessed September 20, 2012).
28. According to article 55, §3, if a woman is in her 4th to 7th week of pregnancy or 11th to 12th week of pregnancy, she must observe a waiting period of 48 hours before she can access abortion services. For a woman in the 8th to 10th weeks of pregnancy, the waiting period is seven days. Additionally, on February 6, 2012, the Russian government issued a decree, the Social Ground for Artificial Termination of Pregnancy, signed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. This decree establishes that the only social ground for abortion between the 12th and 22nd weeks of pregnancy is rape. Previously, abortion was authorized for four social indications during this period. "Postanovlenie Praviteltva Rossiiskoi Federacii ot 6 fevralia 2012 g. N 98 g. Moskva: 'O socialnio, pokazanii dlia iskusstvenogo preriavania beremennosti,'" http://www.rg.ru/2012/02/15/98-dok.html (accessed September 20, 2012).
29. Act No. 576/2004 Coll. of Laws on Health Care, Health Care-Related Services, and Amending and Supplementing Certain Acts as Amended by Act No. 345/2009 Coll. of Laws, 2004 (Slovak).
30. Act No. 73/1986 Coll. on Artificial Termination of Pregnancy as Amended by Act No. 419/1991 Coll., 1986 (Slovak).
31. Judith Bueno de Mesquita and Louise Finer, "Conscientious Objection: Protecting Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights." University of Essex; 2008, http://www.essex.ac.uk/hrc/research/projects/rth/docs/Conscientious- objection-final.pdf (accessed September 20, 2012);
32. Bernard M. Dickens and Rebecca J. Cook, "Conscientious Commitment to Women's Health," International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 113, no. 2 (2011): 163-166;
33. Rebecca J. Cook, Monica Arango Olaya, and Bernard M. Dickens, "Healthcare Responsibilities and Conscientious Objection," International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics 104, no. 3 (2009): 249-252.
34. Previously, abortion was prohibited with no explicit exceptions. Penal Code, promulgated by Law 599 of 2000 (Colombia). Following a ruling by the constitutional court of Colombia, abortion is now permitted to save a woman's life or mental or physical health or in cases of rape, incest, or severe fetal impairment Women's Link Worldwide, "C-355/2005: Excerpts of the Constitutional Court's Ruling That Liberalized Abortion in Colombia"; 2007, http://www.womenslinkworldwide.org/pdf-pubs/pub-c3552006.pdf (accessed September 20, 2012).
35. Judges have subsequently invoked conscientious objection when refusing to hear appeals in connection with the denial of legal abortion services. See, for example, the tutela claim rejected by Judge José Yañez Moncada in Yolanda Perez Ascanio v. Saludvida EPS, Juzgado Décimo Civil Municipal de Cúcuta, Colombia, quoted in Corte Constitucional de Colombia, September 3, 2007. "T-171/07" (Colombia).
36. RRv Poland, No. 27617/04 Eur. Ct. H. R. (2011).
37. See, for example, Corte Constitucional de Colombia, May 28, 2009, "T-388/09/Acción de Tutela" (Colombia) in which the constitutional court of Colombia noted that judicial authorities cannot refuse a woman an abortion on the basis of conscience claims. It also noted that institutions cannot refuse a woman an abortion on the basis of conscience claims. It indicated that only the physician directly performing the abortion can object to the provision of services and to do so, he or she must submit a written statement explaining the objection and refer a woman to a physician who is willing and able to perform the abortion.
38. See also Pichon and Sajous v. France, No. 49853/99, Eur. Ct. H. R., Admissibility Decision (October 2, 2001) (holding that "as long as the sale of contraceptives is legal and occurs on medical prescription nowhere other than in a pharmacy, the applicants cannot give precedence to their religious beliefs and impose them on others as justification for their refusal to sell such products" [p. 4]).
39. World Health Assembly, "Health Aspects of Population Dynamics," WHA 20.41; 1967, http://whqlibdoc.who.int/wha-eb-handbooks/9241652063-Vol1- (part1-2).pdf (accessed September 20, 2012).
40. World Health Organization, "Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance for Health Systems," 2nd ed. (Geneva, 2012), http://www.who.int/ reproductivehealth/publications/unsafe-abortion/9789241548434/en (accessed September 20, 2012).
41. World Health Organization, "Unsafe Abortion: Global and Regional Estimates of the Incidence of Unsafe Abortion and Associated Mortality in 2008" (Geneva, 2011), http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/ 9789241501118-eng.pdf (accessed September 20, 2012);
42. Gilda Sedgh, S. Singh, I.H. Shah, E. Ahman, S.K. Henshaw, and A. Bankole, "Induced Abortion: Incidence and Trends Worldwide From 1995 to 2008," Lancet 379, no. 9816 (2012): 625-632.
43. World Health Organization, "Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance," 23.
44. Tysia̧c v. Poland, No. 5410/03 Eur. Ct. H.R. (2007);
45. A, B and C v. Ireland, No. 25579/05 Eur. Ct. H.R. (2010).
46. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "Technical Guidance on the Application of Human Rights-Based Approach to Implementation of Policies and Programmes to Reduce Preventable Maternal Morbidity and Mortality," para. 56, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/21/22 (July 2, 2012).
47. Heathe Luz McNaughton, E.M. Mitchell, E.G. Hernandez, K. Padilla, and M.M. Blandon, "Patient Privacy and Conflicting Legal and Ethical Obligations in El Salvador," American Journal of Public Health 96, no. 11 (2006): 1927-1933.
48. Center for Reproductive Rights, "Briefing Paper: A Technical Guide to Understanding the Legal and Policy Framework on Termination of Pregnancy in Uganda" (New York, NY, 2012), http://reproductiverights.org/sites/crr. civicactions.net/files/documents/crr-UgandaBriefingPaper-v5.pdf (accessed September 20, 2012). "The single most critical finding of our research is that Uganda's laws and policies are more expansive than most believe, and the current legal and policy framework offers ample opportunities for increasing access to safe abortion services" (p. 6).
49. Tysia̧c v. Poland, No. 5410/03 Eur. Ct. H.R. (2007);
50. L.C. v. Peru, CEDAW Committee, Commc'n No. 22/2009, UN. Doc. CEDAW/C/50/D/22/2009 (2011);
51. K.L. v. Peru, Human Rights Committee, Commc'n No. 1153/2003, UN. Doc. CCPR/C/85/D/1153/2003 (2005);
52. Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación (National Supreme Court of Justice), March 13, 2012, "F., A L. s/medida autosatisfactiva," (Argentina).
53. Tysia̧c v. Poland, No. 5410/03 Eur. Ct. H.R. (2007);
54. A, B and C v. Ireland, No. 25579/05 Eur. Ct. H.R. (2010);
55. L.C. v. Peru, CEDAW Committee, Commc'n No. 22/2009, UN. Doc CEDAW/C/50/D/22/2009 (2011).
56. World Health Organization, "Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance," 96-97.
57. Guttmacher Institute, "In Brief: Facts on Induced Abortion Worldwide"; 2012, http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb-IAW.pdf (accessed December 21, 2012).
58. Joanna N. Erdman, "Harm Reduction, Human Rights, and Access to Information on Safe Abortion," InternationalJournal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 118, no. 1 (2012): 83-86;
59. Beverley Winikoff and Wendy Sheldon, "Use of Medicines Changing the Face of Abortion," International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 38, no. 3 (2012): 164-166.
60. Erdman, "Harm Reduction," 83-86;
61. Winikoff and Sheldon, "Use of Medicines," 164-166.
62. Winikoff and Sheldon, "Use of Medicines," 164-166.
63. P. 355 in Rachel Jewkes, H. Rees, K. Dickson, H. Brown, and J. Levin, "The Impact of Age on the Epidemiology of Incomplete Abortions in South Africa After Legislative Change," BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 112, no. 3 (March 2005): 355-359.
64. Guttmacher Institute, "Making Abortion Services Accessible in the Wake of Legal Reforms: A Framework and Six Case Studies" (New York, NY, 2012), http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/abortion-services-laws.pdf (accessed September 20, 2012).
65. Patricia Stephenson, Marsden Wagner, Mihaela Badea, and Florina Serbanescu, "Commentary: The Public Health Consequences of Restricted Induced Abortion - Lessons From Romania," American Journal of Public Health 82, no. 10 (1992): 1328-1331. "The maternal mortality rate fell by 50% in the first year following the change in the law" (p. 1329).
66. Willard Cates, David A. Grimes, and Kenneth F. Schulz, "Comment: The Public Health Impact of Legal Abortion: 30 Years Later," Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 35, no. 1 (2003): 25-28;
67. Council on Scientific Affairs, "Induced Termination of Pregnancy Before and After Roe v Wade: Trends in the Mortality and Morbidity of Women," Journal of the American Medical Association 268, no. 22: (1992): 3231-3239.
68. Guttmacher Institute, State Policies in Brief.
69. National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, Induced Abortion and Mental Health. Academy of Medical Royal Colleges; 2011, http://www.nccmh.org.uk/ publications-SR-abortion-in-MH.html (accessed September 20, 2012).
70. "When a woman has an unwanted pregnancy, rates of mental health problems will be largely unaffected whether she has an abortion or goes on to give birth" (p. 123); American Psychological Association Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion, "Report of the APA Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion"; 2008, http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/mental-health-abortion- reportpdf (accessed September 20, 2012).
71. "This Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion concludes that the most methodologically sound research indicates that among women who have a single, legal, first-trimester abortion of an unplanned pregnancy for nontherapeutic reasons, the relative risks of mental health problems are no greater than the risks among women who deliver an unplanned pregnancy" (p. 92); World Health Organization, "Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance," 49.
72. See, for example, "Abort - bezplatno: Socailnaih osnovonii dlia prepaivania bremennosti stalo menshem," http://www.rg.ru/2012/02/17/ aborthtml (accessed September 20, 2012);
73. "Minzdrav ogranichil pokazania k poednemy abortu," http://ryazan.kp.ru/online/news/1083714 (accessed September 20, 2012).
74. Elizabeth Raymond and David A Grimes, "The Comparative Safety of Legally Induced Abortion and Childbirth in the United States," Obstetrics & Gynecology 119, no. 2 (2012): 215-219.
75. Steve Gutterman and Sonya Hepinstall, "Church-Backed Abortion Bill Sparks Protest in Russia," Reuters, November 8, 2011, http://www.reuters. com/article/2011/11/08/russia-abortion-idUSL5E7M323R20111108 (accessed September 20, 2012);
76. Arash Ahmadi, "Turkey PM Erdogan Sparks Row Over Abortion," BBC, June 1, 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18297760 (accessed September 21, 2012).
77. Agata Chelstowska, "Stigmatisation and Commercialization of Abortion Services in Poland: Turning Sin Into Gold," Reproductive Health Matters 19, no. 37 (2011): 98-106.
78. Special rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, "Interim Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health, Transmitted by Note of the Secretary-General," para. 28, U.N. Doc A/66/254; August 3, 2011, by Anand Grover.
79. World Health Organization, "Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance," 96.
80. Ted Joyce and Robert Kaestner, "The Impact of Mississippi's Mandatory Delay Law on the Timing of Abortion," Family Planning Perspectives 32, no. 1 (2000): 4-13.
81. World Health Organization, "Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance," 97.
82. Ibid., 23; SRRH, Interim rep. of the Special Rapporteur, U.N. Doc A/66/254 (2011).