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International status of abortion law -- Legal on demand -- Legal for rape, maternal life, health, mental health, socioecomic factors, and/or fetal defects -- Legal for or illegal with exception for rape, maternal life, health, fetal defects, and/or mental health -- Illegal with exception for rape, maternal life, health, and/or mental health -- Illegal with exception for maternal life, health, and/or mental health -- Illegal with no exceptions -- Varies by region -- No information

By the early 20th century, many countries had begun to legalize abortions when performed to protect the life of the woman, and in some cases to protect the health of the woman. Under Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet Union legalized all abortions in 1920. but this was fully reversed in 1936 by Joseph Stalin in order to increase population growth. Iceland was the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion under limited circumstances, doing so in 1935. and the earliest country to do so without recriminalizing it later. Only a handful of countries mostly in Scandinavia —decriminalized abortion before Britain did so in 1967. Other countries soon followed, including Canada (1969 ), the United States (1973 in most states, pursuant to the federal Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion nationwide), France (1975 ), Austria (1975 ),New Zealand (1977 ), Italy (1978 ) and the Netherlands (1980 ). However, these countries vary greatly in the circumstances under which abortion is permitted. In 1975. the West German Supreme Court struck down a law legalizing abortion, holding that they contradict the constitution's human rights guarantees. After Germany's reunification, despite the legal status of abortion in the former East Germany, a compromise was reached which deemed most abortions illegal but does not penalize it under certain circumstances.

In addition to national and regional laws, there are multi-national and international treaties, conventions, and laws that may actually be enforced on or within signatory nations. However, there is an inherent difficulty in the enforcement of international law due to the issue that state sovereignty poses. As such, the effectiveness of even binding multi-national efforts to legislate the rights to life and liberty in general, or abortion in specific, is difficult to measure. Examples of such efforts that have or might have bearing for abortion law, nationally or internationally, include:

• The 1978 American Convention on Human Rights states, in Article 4.1, "Every person has the right to have his life respected. This right shall be protected by law and, in general, from the moment of conception ." The Convention is considered binding only for the 24 of 35 member nations of the Organization of American States who ratified it. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found that the words "in general" left room for individual nations to determine their own abortion legislation. [1]

• The 1994 Programme of Action states, in paragraph 8.25, "In no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning. Any measures or changes related to abortion within the health system can only be determined at the national or local level according to the national legislative process. In circumstances where abortion is not against the law, such abortion should be safe." The nonbinding document was adopted by at least 179 countries at the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo, Egypt .

• The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action states, in paragraph 96, “The human rights of women include their right to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.” The nonbinding document has been adopted by 189 countries at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China. It calls upon nations in which abortion remains illegal to reconsider laws that punish women, but does not specifically advocate the legalization of abortion.

The following series of tables present the current abortion legislation of the world's nations as divided by continent. Actual access to abortion may vary significantly on the basis of geography. income, cost, health care. social factors, and other issues. Many jurisdictions also place other restrictions on abortion access, including waiting periods, the provision of information, the assent of multiple doctors, and spousal or parental notification .

Legend

• Yes - Legal
• No - Illegal
• * - Legal during 1st trimester only (exact date may vary)
• # - Legal during 1st and 2nd trimester only (exact date may vary)
• Restricted - Legal but subject to significant restrictions
• Varies - Varies by region
• ? - Information is unavailable or the law is too ambiguous