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Protesters hold a banner reading 'abortion is a basic right' during a rally in support of abortion rights following the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, in Paris, France, July 2, 2022

Abortion restrictions around the world

Updated: April 23, 2025

In the past year, from the United States to Poland, obstacles have been placed on abortion access as conservative lawmakers tighten restrictions on terminations.

Reproductive rights campaigners say legislation that bans or severely restricts abortion does not stop women getting terminations, instead forcing some to get backstreet abortions that can be unsafe and sometimes deadly.

In a debate marked by deep ideological and religious divides, some US economists are now urging policymakers to consider the financial cost of curbing women's abortion rights.

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Protesters gather inside the South Carolina House as members debate a near-total ban on abortion in Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. August 30, 2022. REUTERS/Sam Wolfe
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Protesters hold banners during Abortion Rights Solidarity demonstration, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade decision that legalised abortion, outside the U.S. embassy in London, Britain July 9, 2022.
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Joanna Sagier visits the abortion center with her two-year-old son. In 2021, activists helped Joanna arrange a trip to Holland to terminate her previous pregnancy, after the fetus was diagnosed with Edwards syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes severe disability and can also pose a risk to the pregnant woman's life. April 7, 2025. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Ada Petriczko
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A patient prepares to take Mifepristone, the first pill in a medical abortion, at Alamo Women's Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, U.S., April 9, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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Anti-abortion and abortion rights protestors demonstrate on the anniversary of the decision by the United States Supreme to overturn Roe v. Wade, outside the U.S. Supreme Court, in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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Women walk along a corridor at the Los Angeles County women's jail in Lynwood, California April 26, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
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Misoprostol pills, the second medication used in a medical abortion, are put in envelopes for patients at Alamo Women's Clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S., January 10, 2023
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A doctor hands a patient the initial abortion inducing medication at Trust Women clinic in Oklahoma City, U.S., December 6, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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Abortion rights activists participate in a 2022 Women's March with the theme “We Demand Our Rights” in anticipation of the upcoming U.S. midterm elections on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. October 8, 2022. REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades
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Women participate in a protest to mark the International Safe Abortion Day in San Salvador, El Salvador September 28, 2020
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Abortion rights activists carry signs during a 2022 Women's March with the theme “We Demand Our Rights” in anticipation of the upcoming U.S. midterm elections on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. October 8, 2022
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A woman checks her mobile phone inside the premises of the Supreme Court in New Delhi, India, September 28, 2018
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Abortion rights demonstrator tapes her mouth outside the United States Supreme Court as the court rules in the Dobbs v Women's Health Organization abortion case, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2022
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