Abortion laws differ from one country to the next, and sometimes from one region to the next. This map shows what the law allows in each country, with the law it is based on, a link to the source and the date we last verified it.
Each country is shaded by what its law allows. Select a country to open its law card, with the gestational limit, the grounds, the procedure required before care, official services and verified clinics.
For the United States, where the law is set state by state, open the abortion laws by state map.
The categories follow the way international legal databases group abortion laws, such as the WHO Global Abortion Policies Database and the world map of the Center for Reproductive Rights. A category is a summary. The country card always gives the exact wording of the law.
A person can ask for an abortion without giving a reason, up to a week set in the law. Later in pregnancy, care is usually still possible on specific grounds, such as a risk to health or a serious fetal condition. Many of these laws also set procedural steps, such as counseling or a waiting period.
The law lists reasons that include the person's social or economic circumstances. In practice, access depends on how doctors and services apply these grounds, and the card explains what is required.
Abortion is permitted only in the situations the law names. Each card lists which grounds apply, who confirms them and whether a time limit applies to each ground.
The law does not permit abortion on any ground, or permits it only in a situation that is not written into the law itself. Where a court decision or medical guidance changes this, the card says so and cites it.
Most laws set limits in weeks of pregnancy. Some count from the first day of the last menstrual period, others from conception, which is about two weeks later. The same number of weeks can therefore mean different things in two countries. Every country card states how its law counts, and our guide to abortion gestational limits explains the difference in plain language.
Every country card uses the same fields in the same order, so two countries can be compared at a glance.
Laws change through new legislation and court decisions. The summaries below describe broad patterns only. For the current rule in any country, open its card, which shows the source and verification date.
Most European countries allow abortion on request in the first trimester, often up to 12 weeks, and a few allow it later, such as up to 18 weeks in Sweden and 24 weeks in Great Britain on the grounds of the Abortion Act 1967. Many countries require counseling or a waiting period before care. Poland and Malta permit abortion only on narrow grounds, and people living there often look at legal care in other countries, described in our travel for abortion guide.
In Canada, abortion is not regulated by criminal law and is treated as health care. In the United States, the law has been set by each state since the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022), so the abortion laws by state map shows each state separately. In Mexico, the Supreme Court has ruled against the criminal punishment of abortion and the rules differ by state, as explained on our page about interrupción legal del embarazo.
Laws in this region range from abortion on request to prohibition on all grounds. Several countries do not permit abortion in any situation, while others allow it on request in the first trimester. The country cards show the grounds for each one.
Argentina allows abortion on request up to 14 weeks under Law 27.610, Colombia up to 24 weeks following a 2022 decision of its Constitutional Court, and Uruguay up to 12 weeks. Chile permits it on three grounds, and Brazil in the situations described on our page about aborto no Brasil.
South Africa allows abortion on request in the first 12 weeks under the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act. Many other African countries permit abortion on specific grounds, and the Maputo Protocol of the African Union addresses access in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest and risk to health or life. National laws decide how this applies in each country.
Laws range from broad access to narrow grounds. India, for instance, permits abortion under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, with limits that depend on the circumstances and the number of doctors whose opinion is required. Each card explains who can provide care and under which conditions.
Abortion is lawful in every Australian state and territory, with limits and procedures that differ between them. New Zealand treats abortion as health care under the Abortion Legislation Act 2020.
Choose where you are and how many weeks it has been since the first day of your last period. The checker shows what the law allows at home and the nearest places where care is legal at that stage. It runs in your browser and nothing you enter is sent to us.
Each card is checked against the official text of the national law, court decisions and official health guidance, and compared with the WHO Global Abortion Policies Database and the Center for Reproductive Rights. When a law changes, we update the card and its verification date and publish the change in our abortion law news. Read our sources and editorial policy for the full method.
Open your country on the map or use the checker. The card shows the status, the gestational limit, the grounds, any waiting period or counseling requirement, the law it is based on and the date we last verified it.
Some laws count weeks from the first day of the last period and others from conception. The card always says which way the law counts.
In most countries, traveling abroad for care that is legal in the destination is not an offense. A few laws contain rules about helping others, and the country card notes them where they exist. Our travel for abortion guide describes legal care abroad.
We check each card against its source regularly and whenever a change is announced. The date on each card shows when it was last verified.
No. Abortion.io gives general information about the law. For a decision about your own situation, a lawyer or an official service in your country can advise you, and medical decisions are made together with a doctor.
If you are in danger or need urgent medical care, call your local emergency number.
Every number is checked at its official source. A number we cannot verify is not shown.
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