Europe has seen a broad trend towards liberalization of abortion laws but some countries are bucking the trend.
Across the continent, 95% of women of reproductive age live in nations that allow terminations without requiring a specific reason, according to 2023 data from the U.S.-based Center for Reproductive Rights. However, that’s not the case in Poland, Malta, Liechtenstein and Monaco.
Polish lawmakers earlier this month rejected a bill that sought to scrap penalties for people who help a woman get an abortion, highlighting deep divisions in the country’s ruling coalition.
Below, we examine how Poland’s abortion laws compare with those of other EU countries.
POLAND
Poland has one of Europe's most restrictive abortion laws. It allows terminations only in cases involving rape or incest, or when a woman's health or life is at risk.
Under the previous socially conservative government, which championed traditional Catholic values (and continues to do so now that it is in opposition), a near-total ban on terminations was introduced in 2021, including in cases of fetal anomalies. That move sparked mass street protests.
The hopes of women’s rights activists were raised when centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk took power in December.
One of his party's pre-election vows was to grant access to abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. But tensions within Tusk’s broad ruling coalition have put a spanner in the works, with disputes between center-right politicians and left-wingers causing delays to promised liberalization.
FRANCE
In March, France became the first country in the world to make women's choice to request a termination a constitutional right. Abortion, which has been legal since a landmark 1974 law, is more widely accepted in France than in many other European nations and the United States.
GERMANY
Women can have a legal abortion within 12 weeks of conception if they submit to counseling and other formal requirements. But there are exceptions under which this time limit can be extended, including for victims of violent crime.
There are no time restrictions if the mother's life is in danger.
HUNGARY
Abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy has been legal since 1953.
But in September 2022, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s nationalist Fidesz party curbed abortion rights with a “heartbeat law” that requires women to listen to a pulse generated by an ultrasound monitor before deciding to terminate.
IRELAND
Amid a shift in attitudes, the Catholic country lifted an almost total ban on abortion in 2019 following a landslide referendum in 2018.
Abortion is now allowed up to the 12th week of pregnancy, though this period can be longer if a fetus has a terminal condition or a woman's health is at risk.
ITALY
The southern European country has allowed terminations within 90 days of conception since 1978, but accessing an abortion can be difficult.
LIECHTENSTEIN
Abortion is permitted only to safeguard a woman's health or in cases of rape.
MALTA
The staunchly Catholic island nation changed its strict anti-abortion laws last year to allow terminations, but only when a woman's life is in danger.
Terminations remain illegal under all other circumstances, including rape, incest and severe fetal abnormalities.
Malta was previously the only European Union country not allowing any type of abortion.
MONACO
Terminations are allowed only to safeguard a woman's physical health, and in cases of incest, rape and fetal abnormalities.
SLOVAKIA
Abortion is allowed until the 12th week of pregnancy, but at least 48 hours must elapse between the submission of a request for a termination and the procedure being carried out.
SPAIN
Under a left-wing government, lawmakers last year approved legislation allowing girls aged 16 and 17 to have abortions without parental consent.
The law also removed a mandatory three-day "reflection" period for women seeking terminations.
Previously, an abortion law reform introduced in 2010 allowed women to end unwanted pregnancies on demand within 14 weeks, or up to 22 weeks in cases of severe fetal abnormalities.
UNITED KINGDOM
Abortion is permitted up to the 24th week of pregnancy. There is no time limit in cases where a woman's life is at risk or there is a serious fetal abnormality.
A scheme introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed women to end pregnancies at home within 10 weeks of conception.
Polish lawmakers earlier this month rejected a bill that sought to scrap penalties for people who help a woman get an abortion, highlighting deep divisions in the country’s ruling coalition.
Below, we examine how Poland’s abortion laws compare with those of other EU countries.
POLAND
Poland has one of Europe's most restrictive abortion laws. It allows terminations only in cases involving rape or incest, or when a woman's health or life is at risk.
Under the previous socially conservative government, which championed traditional Catholic values (and continues to do so now that it is in opposition), a near-total ban on terminations was introduced in 2021, including in cases of fetal anomalies. That move sparked mass street protests.
The hopes of women’s rights activists were raised when centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk took power in December.
One of his party's pre-election vows was to grant access to abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. But tensions within Tusk’s broad ruling coalition have put a spanner in the works, with disputes between center-right politicians and left-wingers causing delays to promised liberalization.
FRANCE
In March, France became the first country in the world to make women's choice to request a termination a constitutional right. Abortion, which has been legal since a landmark 1974 law, is more widely accepted in France than in many other European nations and the United States.
GERMANY
Women can have a legal abortion within 12 weeks of conception if they submit to counseling and other formal requirements. But there are exceptions under which this time limit can be extended, including for victims of violent crime.
There are no time restrictions if the mother's life is in danger.
HUNGARY
Abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy has been legal since 1953.
But in September 2022, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s nationalist Fidesz party curbed abortion rights with a “heartbeat law” that requires women to listen to a pulse generated by an ultrasound monitor before deciding to terminate.
IRELAND
Amid a shift in attitudes, the Catholic country lifted an almost total ban on abortion in 2019 following a landslide referendum in 2018.
Abortion is now allowed up to the 12th week of pregnancy, though this period can be longer if a fetus has a terminal condition or a woman's health is at risk.
ITALY
The southern European country has allowed terminations within 90 days of conception since 1978, but accessing an abortion can be difficult.
LIECHTENSTEIN
Abortion is permitted only to safeguard a woman's health or in cases of rape.
MALTA
The staunchly Catholic island nation changed its strict anti-abortion laws last year to allow terminations, but only when a woman's life is in danger.
Terminations remain illegal under all other circumstances, including rape, incest and severe fetal abnormalities.
Malta was previously the only European Union country not allowing any type of abortion.
MONACO
Terminations are allowed only to safeguard a woman's physical health, and in cases of incest, rape and fetal abnormalities.
SLOVAKIA
Abortion is allowed until the 12th week of pregnancy, but at least 48 hours must elapse between the submission of a request for a termination and the procedure being carried out.
SPAIN
Under a left-wing government, lawmakers last year approved legislation allowing girls aged 16 and 17 to have abortions without parental consent.
The law also removed a mandatory three-day "reflection" period for women seeking terminations.
Previously, an abortion law reform introduced in 2010 allowed women to end unwanted pregnancies on demand within 14 weeks, or up to 22 weeks in cases of severe fetal abnormalities.
UNITED KINGDOM
Abortion is permitted up to the 24th week of pregnancy. There is no time limit in cases where a woman's life is at risk or there is a serious fetal abnormality.
A scheme introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed women to end pregnancies at home within 10 weeks of conception.
Source: Reuters, TVP World, Euronews
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