In these countries abortion is legal (and in these others it is not allowed under any circumstances) | CNN

Poor would be more harmed with restriction on abortion 2:07

(CNN Spanish) - 

In the last hours, the new Texas law that prohibits the practice of abortion after 6 weeks of gestation once again put the issue at the center of the scene.

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, described the norm as "extreme" and affirmed that it violates a constitutional right.

The United States is one of nearly 60 countries that provide legal access to safe abortions.

Although it has been legal since 1973, access to treatment depends on the laws determined by each state, and most states have established gestational limits that vary from 20 to 24 weeks.

Abortion laws in the world

Laws on abortion vary dramatically around the world: in some countries it is a personal decision, in others it is completely illegal, and in many countries abortions are only accepted in certain situations, such as fetal malformations or in cases of rape.

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The Center for Reproductive Rights, a non-profit organization in the United States, counts those countries in which abortion is legal, in which it is allowed only in certain circumstances and in which it is totally illegal.

Some of the latest updates were those of Argentina, which in December 2020 approved the law that allows the voluntary interruption of pregnancy;

Ireland, which in May 2020 held a referendum in which legalizing abortion won by majority;

and Chile, which in 2019 allowed abortion in certain circumstances.

The situation in Latin America

On December 30, 2020, the Senate of Argentina approved the bill that legalizes the voluntary interruption of pregnancy.

The country thus managed to legalize abortion after the regulation failed legislatively in 2018.

The law was promulgated by President Alberto Fernández in January 2021 and

allows free and legal access to abortion up to the 14th week of gestation.

Argentina thus joined Uruguay and Cuba as the only countries in Latin America that enable legal abortion at the request of any pregnant woman.

Uruguayan law establishes as a limit the 12th week of gestation, as well as the Cuban one.

In addition to the United States, on the mainland Canada, Guiana, and French Guiana also have laws that enable free legal abortion.

Then other countries have a policy in which they allow abortion in specific cases and conditions:

• Bolivia: rape, incest, mental health;

• Colombia: rape, incest or fetal alteration;

• Ecuador: rape;

• Peru: rape, risk of life for women.

In Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Dominica, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay and Venezuela, abortion is prohibited, but it is allowed to save the life of the woman in case of risk.

Mexico is among those countries, but some states have added other causes to allow the termination of pregnancy.

For example, in Mexico City it is enabled up to 12 weeks of gestation.

Suriname, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras are the only countries on the American continent in which abortion is totally prohibited.

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Editor's Note:

This article was initially published in August 2018 and was updated in September 2021.

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