These are some of the world's strictest abortion laws

Women can be charged with attempted murder for having an abortion in El Salvador

On Wednesday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed in a law that bans abortion at any stage of pregnancy – except when a woman’s life is at risk. This law makes no exception for rape and incest, meaning if a child falls pregnant due to rape they won’t have an option to abort.

The Alabama office has also put forward House Bill 314 which would make performing an abortion a felony offence in Alabama, and doctors could spend up to 99 years in prison – longer than most murder and rape sentences. However, this bill will likely be blocked by courts.

The new law has received heavy criticism, not just from women in the US but from people around the world arguing that it takes away a woman’s right to autonomy over her own body.

Yet while the new law, which could be tied in the courts for years before it's ever enforced, is the strictest abortion law in the US, there are many countries around the world which have even stricter abortion laws – including Northern Ireland.

Below are the countries with the strictest abortion laws in the world.

Northern Ireland

Unlike other countries in the UK, the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply to Northern Ireland. This act decriminalises abortion in the UK under certain circumstances, namely that the pregnancy has not exceeded its 24th week.

Instead, abortion in Northern Ireland is illegal and governed under the Criminal Justice Act (NI) 1945 which says abortion is only permissible to ‘preserve the life of the mother’ – meaning abortions will not be performed in cases of fatal foetal abnormality, rape or incest.

On top of this act, the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861 still remains in place in Northern Ireland which means both pregnant women and medical staff that procure an abortion can face life imprisonment.

After Ireland successfully repealed its abortion ban last year, Northern Ireland’s strict abortion ban came into question and a slew of protests have been held since.

A Labour-led campaign in 2017 ruled that women from Northern Ireland can get free abortions on the NHS in England – but this still means travel costs which aren’t viable for some women.

Ireland abortion referendum - In pictures

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Poland

While abortion is legal in most European countries, Poland’s abortion law states that terminations are only legal when there is a threat to the mother’s life, if there is a foetal abnormality or when a pregnancy has resulted from rape or incest.

According to Krystyna Kacpura, executive director of the Federation for Women and Family Planning, up to 150,000 women in Poland obtained an illegal abortion in 2016, while only 1,055 women were permitted to have a legal abortion.

That was the same year lawmakers tried to impose a blanket ban on abortion, with the only exception being if the woman’s life was in danger. After thousands of people protested this proposed law change, the plan was scrapped.

Malta

The only country in the EU where abortion remains completely illegal in all cases and circumstances, Malta has some of the strictest abortion laws in the world.

In Malta, current laws state that anyone performing an abortion or a pregnant woman that consents to an abortion can face anywhere from 18 months to three years in jail. If the person that performs the procedure is a doctor, they can face up to four years in jail and will receive a lifelong ban from their work.

El Salvador

There has been a blanket ban on abortions in El Salvador since 1998, which means abortion is criminalised under all cases and circumstances.

Described by Amnesty International as ‘one of the most dangerous countries to be a woman’, 20-year-old Imelda Cortez was recently released from prison after she was being held for attempted murder under the strict abortion ban.

When Cortez gave birth to her baby in April last year, after falling pregnant to rape, doctors suspected she had tried to perform an abortion. Prosecutors argued that because she didn’t tell anyone about her pregnancy and sought medical help after giving birth that this amounted to attempted murder – something which carries a 20-year jail term. Cortez was held for 18 months before a court last December ruled that she had not tried to kill her child.

This is not a unique case. A 34-year-old woman was freed from a jail in El Salvador in March last year after serving 15 years for having an abortion. Throughout her term, Maria Verónica Figueroa Marroquín maintained her freedom and said she suffered a stillbirth.

Over 100 people have been convicted of abortion-related crimes in El Salvador since 2000.

African nations

Many of the countries on the African continent have extremely strict abortion laws, with 10 of the 54 African countries restricting abortion completely. These include Angola, Congo, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal and Egypt.

A report from the Guttmacher Institute found that 93 per cent of women of reproductive age on the continent live in country with restrictive abortion laws.

Only three countries in Africa have legalised abortion: Cape Verde, South Africa and Tunisia.

Andorra

In Andorra, abortion is completely banned except in cases where the woman’s life is at risk. A pregnant women who performs or consents to an abortion can face up to two and a half years in prison.

If another person performs an abortion on a pregnant woman they can face up to four years in prison while a doctor can face up to six years in prison if they perform an abortion.

Philippines

In the Philippines, abortion is illegal except in cases when the woman’s life is at risk. Anyone who performs an abortion on a pregnant woman whose life isn’t at risk can face a six year jail sentence and a woman that performs an abortion on herself can face at least six months in prison.

USA

Local pro-choice activist Lisa King holds a sign in front of the U.S. Supreme Court
Getty Images

In 1973, the US passed the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case which deemed access to safe and legal abortions a constitutional right.

Yet, there have been a number of pivotal political shifts in the US recently meaning this law is at risk – namely the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court , a republican with a long record of ruling to limit access to safe and legal abortion.

This appointment has led to a number of abortion cases being brought to the Supreme Court and the possibility, that if the Roe vs. Wade law was brought to a vote, Kavanaugh would vote to overturn it.

US abortion laws by state


Alabama is the first state in the US to pass a total ban on abortions, but it looks like some are trying to follow its lead.

Four states in the US have recently passed a ‘heartbeat’ bill, which bans abortions once a foetal heartbeat can be detected – usually at six weeks. These states are Mississippi, Ohio, Georgia and Kentucky. Most women find out they’re pregnant between weeks four and seven.

North Carolina allows abortion up to the 20th week of pregnancy, while Arkansas and Utah have both passed a law this year that restricts abortion after 18 weeks.

At present, Missouri, Louisiana, South Carolina, West Virginia, Florida and Texas are working to introduce stricter abortion laws.

In the US, 23 states abide by the Roe standard law of not allowing abortion after the 24th week of pregnancy. These states include:

  • New York
  • Florida
  • Massachusetts
  • Nevada
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Main
  • Maryland
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota Missouri
  • Montana
  • Tennessee
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
  • Virginia

While a number of states disallow abortion after 22 weeks. These include:

  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Louisiana
  • Nebraska
  • North Dakota
  • South Dakota
  • Oklahoma
  • South Carolina
  • Texas
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin

Brazil

Under Brazilian law, women can only have an abortion in cases of rape, if her life is at risk or if there is a foetal brain abnormality. If an abortion is performed illegally in Brazil, this is punishable by a maximum of four years imprisonment for the person who performed the abortion. If a woman performs an abortion on herself she may face a maximum of three years in jail.

Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic, abortion is banned under all circumstances – even if the woman’s life is at risk.

The country’s criminal code states that women and girls who induce abortions can face up to two years in prison, and medical professionals who provide abortions can face up to 20 years in prison.

New Zealand

While certainly not as strict as some of the others on this list, as abortion is technically legal in New Zealand, there are some moral loopholes Kiwi women need to jump through in order to get an abortion.

In New Zealand the only way an abortion is legal is if two certifying consultants agree that continuing the pregnancy would result in serious danger to a woman’s mental or physical health. The Crimes Act 1961 also rules incest or sexual relations with a guardian as terms for an abortion as well as foetal abnormality. Rape is not considered as grounds for an abortion but will ‘be considered’.

The 2016 Abortion Supervisory Committee figures revealed that 97 per cent of all abortions performed that year (there were 12,823 abortions performed in New Zealand in 2016) were on the grounds of being a danger to the woman’s mental health, and while that may be true in some cases, Terry Bellamak of Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand, told VICE it meant women seeking abortion in New Zealand had to “lie about their mental health status to meet the grounds in the Crimes Act”.

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