The legislation is completely different in part: in Poland, a pregnant woman can legally abort in case of rape or abuse in her own family, but in the case of severe malformations of the fetus, abortion is illegal. In Algeria, abortion is only approved by law if it is beneficial for women`s health. Here, mental health is explicitly emphasized, which is significantly impaired after rape or abuse. Specifically, however, sexual offences do not find a place in the code. Even in countries like Venezuela, Ecuador or Costa Rica, abortions are only legal under certain conditions, for example if the woman`s life is in danger. The Soviet Union allowed abortion in 1955. The reason: illegal abortions had cost too many lives. At the same time, no information on contraceptives entered the country and the health system offered free abortions. In socialist Cuba, the situation is similar: limited access to condoms and the pill, coupled with a relatively good health care system, ensures that many women have multiple interrupted pregnancies. There are 121 million unwanted pregnancies worldwide every year, according to the United Nations.
More than 60% of them are interrupted by abortions – almost half in dangerous conditions. At the World Population Conference in Cairo in 1994, 179 States pledged to guarantee the right to safe abortion in the future. In Hong Kong, abortion was legalized in 1976 in certain cases, such as when the physical or mental health of pregnant women is threatened, rape and incest, or weakening of the pregnant woman. This requires the consent of two doctors. In the United States, the Supreme Court overturned national abortion rights last week. A few days later, according to Wikipedia, abortions are already illegal in more than ten states – according to media reports, a total of 26 federal states could completely ban or severely restrict abortions. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, about 601 million women (36%) of reproductive age live worldwide in countries where abortion is possible even without health or social reasons. This includes Germany. There is currently only one country in Europe where abortions are completely banned. This refers to Malta, which only made headlines recently because an American tourist had to fear for her life there after complications during pregnancy. Access has also become much more difficult since the adoption of a new restrictive abortion law in Poland.
In the Netherlands, the legislation is very liberal: since 1984, abortion is possible according to the will of the woman, as long as the term is not yet viable outside the mother`s body, which corresponds to about the 22nd to 24th week of pregnancy. A consultation and a five-day cooling-off period are prescribed. The costs are covered by the health insurance company. The Netherlands is one of the countries with the fewest abortions in the world. In Colombia, the Constitutional Court decided in 2020 not to change the legal situation according to which a legal abortion can only be performed if the woman has been raped or incest has been present, if the embryo is affected by life-threatening malformations or if the pregnancy presents a physical or mental danger to the mother. Since 1988, abortions have been legal in Canada – without delays or other legal restrictions, they are treated like any other medical procedure. After pregnancies, 90% of abortions take place in the first third of pregnancy. Evangelical movements and Pentecostal churches, originating in the United States, now have a great influence on political decisions in many countries around the world, according to American political scientist Javier Corrales.
Evangelicals would form alliances with NGOs, parties and other traditional political actors, including the Catholic Church, his former adversary – in an effort to push through conservative reforms.