Sometimes other laws that have nothing to do with abortion create barriers. In Morocco, the abortion law was introduced in 1920, when Morocco was a French protectorate. In May 2015, following a public debate stemming from reports of women`s deaths due to unsafe abortion, a king`s directive launched a reform process to extend legal protection. According to the Moroccan Family Planning Association, despite a consensus that abortion should be allowed within the first three months when a woman`s physical and mental health is at risk, and in cases of rape, incest or birth defects, single women would be excluded because it is illegal to have sex outside of marriage.22 When abortion was first legalized in 1973, Federal funding was available to low-income women on Medicaid who wanted to have an abortion. In 1977, Congress passed the Hyde Amendment (passed in 1976), which banned federal funding for abortions. Hyde banned abortion coverage in Medicaid, Indian Health Services, Medicare, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Peace Corp volunteers, and military personnel health care. Since its passage, Congress has been inconsistent on exceptional language for abortion coverage. Currently, there are exceptions in cases of rape, incest and danger to the life of the mother, but these exceptions have not always existed. The Hyde Amendment is attached as a “tab” to grant laws, meaning it must be added each year when the government`s budget is voted.

It has prevented millions of low-income women from making their own decisions about whether to have a child, forcing some to continue their pregnancies, even if it puts their health at risk. Of the new restrictions enacted this year, 12 fall into the category of an abortion ban, including near-total bans, triggering bans, basic bans, and pregnancy bans.20 Under its new law, Arkansas bans abortion in all cases, with one exception to endangering the life of the pregnant person.21 Oklahoma only allows abortion if it is necessary to prevent abortion. death of the mother or one to prevent irreversible physical impairment of the mother. which significantly increases the risk of death.22 On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women`s Health Organization (JWHO). The decision upheld Mississippi`s 15th week of pregnancy ban and overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion in the United States. Those who are already marginalized are disproportionately affected by these laws because they have no way to use safe and legal services in another country or access private care. These include low-income women and girls, refugees and migrants, youth, lesbians, bisexual cisgender women and girls, transgender or gender non-conformists, minority or indigenous women.

In recent years, in some countries, laws legalizing abortion have been found in health care laws, court decisions, and sexual and reproductive health care policies and regulations, rather than as part of criminal law. Uruguay`s 2012 law is an example of public health legislation that establishes sanitary procedures and standards for the provision of abortion services.43 In December 2014, the Luxembourg parliament voted to remove abortion from the penal code until the 12th week of pregnancy, saying the woman no longer had to prove that she was “in distress” because of her pregnancy. Regulations on who can perform abortions have also been revised.44 In France, the Veil Act of 1975 was reformed in 2014, 2015 and 2016 to improve access to abortion and remove barriers. Even in France, women no longer need to be in a “state of emergency”,” but only have to request an abortion. The seven-day “cooling-off period” required between the abortion request and the abortion itself has also been removed. More recently, midwives are now allowed to perform medical abortions and the cost of all abortions is now reimbursed.45 Despite Americans` continued support for Roe v. Wade, state lawmakers have spent decades restricting access to abortion. To reverse the danger of the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade, it`s important to look at history.

Abortion, like birth control, has ancient roots in cultures around the world. When American politicians began banning abortion in the late 1800s, they drove what was simply a private matter underground. The abortion was summarized in secret. Reproductive rights advocates in states across the country are taking proactive steps to protect and expand access to abortion, despite the Supreme Court`s decision. Access to safe abortion services is a human right. According to international human rights law, everyone has the right to life, health and freedom from violence, discrimination and torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. There is evidence that abortion rates are higher in countries where access to contraceptives is limited. Abortion rates are lower when people, including adolescents, have and can access information about modern contraceptive methods, and when comprehensive sexuality education is available and access to safe and legal abortion is wide. This is proof that the best way to leave unsafe abortion in history is to remove all legal restrictions and provide universal access to safe abortion. But the question remains, how can we move from where things are now, to where they could (and should) be? Total number of state restrictions on abortion that have been passed since Roe v. Wade While the general trend is leading to more progressive laws around the world, some countries where the right has taken power have regressed. In Chile, from 1931 to 1989, the law allowed abortion for therapeutic reasons, which is described in the penal code as “ending a pregnancy before the fetus becomes viable in order to save the mother`s life or protect her health.” Pinochet, the dictator who overthrew the Allende government, banned abortion in 1989 when he left office, leaving no legal basis.35 It wasn`t until 2016 that Michelle Bachelet`s government introduced a bill during her second term that allowed three reasons for legal abortion – saving women`s lives in cases of rape or sexual abuse.

and in cases of fatal fetal abnormality – which are narrower than was true between 1931 and 1989, but the best is what its proponents consider possible today.36 Reed Boland examines the importance of the formulation in relation to the health reason for abortion: In Russia, the law has gone back and forth between permissive and restrictive with every change of political leadership.