Editing Abortion (section)

==Society and culture==
{{Further|Societal attitudes towards abortion}}

===Abortion debate===
{{Main|Abortion debate}}
Induced abortion has long been the source of considerable debate. [[Medical ethics|Ethical]], [[Morality|moral]], [[Philosophical aspects of the abortion debate|philosophical]], [[Therapeutic abortion|biological]], [[Ethics in religion|religious]] and [[Abortion law|legal]] issues surrounding abortion are related to [[value system]]s. Opinions of abortion may be about [[fetal rights]], governmental authority, and [[women's rights]].

In both public and private debate, arguments presented in favor of or against abortion access focus on either the moral permissibility of an induced abortion, or the justification of laws permitting or restricting abortion.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Farrell C | title =Abortion Debate| publisher =ABDO Publishing Company| year =2010| pages =6–7| isbn =978-1-61785-264-0}}</ref> The [[World Medical Association]] Declaration on Therapeutic Abortion notes, "circumstances bringing the interests of a mother into conflict with the interests of her unborn child create a dilemma and raise the question as to whether or not the pregnancy should be deliberately terminated."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/a1/ |title=WMA Declaration on Therapeutic Abortion |publisher=World Medical Association |access-date=28 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028182953/http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/a1/ |archive-date=28 October 2015 }}</ref> Abortion debates, especially pertaining to [[abortion law]]s, are often spearheaded by groups advocating one of these two positions. Groups who favor greater legal restrictions on abortion, including complete prohibition, most often describe themselves as "[[anti-abortion movement|pro-life]]" while groups who are against such legal restrictions describe themselves as "[[Abortion-rights movements|pro-choice]]".<ref>Farrell, p. 8</ref>

===Modern abortion law===
{{Main|Abortion law}}
{{See also|History of abortion law debate}}
{{AbortionLawsMap|size=330px}}

Current laws pertaining to abortion are diverse. Religious, moral, and cultural factors continue to influence abortion laws throughout the world. The [[right to life]], the right to liberty, the right to [[security of person]], and the right to [[reproductive health]] are major issues of human rights that sometimes constitute the basis for the existence or absence of abortion laws.

In jurisdictions where abortion is legal, certain requirements must often be met before a woman may obtain a legal abortion (an abortion performed without the woman's consent is considered [[feticide]] and is generally illegal). These requirements usually depend on the age of the fetus, often using a [[Pregnancy#Terminology|trimester]]-based system to regulate the window of legality, or as in the U.S., on a doctor's evaluation of the fetus' [[Fetal viability|viability]]. Some jurisdictions require a waiting period before the procedure, prescribe the distribution of information on [[prenatal development|fetal development]], or require that [[minors and abortion|parents be contacted]] if their minor daughter requests an abortion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://internationalfamilyplanningperspectives.org/pubs/MandatoryCounseling.pdf |title=The Impact of State Mandatory Counseling and Waiting Period Laws on Abortion: A Literature Review |publisher=Guttmacher Institute| vauthors = Joyce TJ, Henshaw SK, Dennis A, Finer LB, Blanchard K |date=April 2009 |access-date=31 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316155239/http://internationalfamilyplanningperspectives.org/pubs/MandatoryCounseling.pdf |archive-date=16 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other jurisdictions may require that a woman obtain the [[Paternal rights and abortion|consent of the fetus' father]] before aborting the fetus, that abortion providers inform women of health risks of the procedure—sometimes including "risks" not supported by the medical literature—and that multiple medical authorities certify that the abortion is either medically or socially necessary. Many restrictions are waived in emergency situations. China, which has ended their<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/29/china-abandons-one-child-policy|title=China ends one-child policy after 35 years| vauthors = Phillips T |date=29 October 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|issn=0261-3077|access-date=30 November 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201021629/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/29/china-abandons-one-child-policy|archive-date=1 December 2016}}</ref> [[one-child policy]], and now has a three-child policy,<ref>{{cite news |title=China NPC: Three-child policy formally passed into law |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58277473 |access-date=6 April 2024 |date=20 August 2021 |archive-date=29 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629190816/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58277473 |url-status=live }}</ref> has at times incorporated mandatory abortions as part of their population control strategy.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Science, Technology, and Society: An Encyclopedia |page=2 | veditors = Restivo SP |year=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-514193-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A8C3m8rRba4C |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315111926/http://books.google.com/books?id=A8C3m8rRba4C |archive-date=15 March 2015  }}</ref>

Other jurisdictions ban abortion almost entirely. Many, but not all, of these allow legal abortions in a variety of circumstances. These circumstances vary based on jurisdiction, but may include whether the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, the fetus' development is impaired, the woman's physical or mental well-being is endangered, or socioeconomic considerations make childbirth a hardship.<ref name="Dev98-07" /> In countries where abortion is banned entirely, such as [[Abortion in Nicaragua|Nicaragua]], medical authorities have recorded rises in maternal death directly and indirectly due to pregnancy as well as deaths due to doctors' fears of prosecution if they treat other gynecological emergencies.<ref>{{cite web|title=European delegation visits Nicaragua to examine effects of abortion ban |date=26 November 2007 |publisher=Ipas |access-date=15 June 2009 |url=http://www.ipas.org/Library/News/News_Items/European_delegation_visits_Nicaragua_to_examine_effects_of_abortion_ban.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417033829/http://www.ipas.org/Library/News/News_Items/European_delegation_visits_Nicaragua_to_examine_effects_of_abortion_ban.aspx |archive-date=17 April 2008 |quote=More than 82 maternal deaths had been registered in Nicaragua since the change. During this same period, indirect obstetric deaths, or deaths caused by illnesses aggravated by the normal effects of pregnancy and not due to direct obstetric causes, have doubled.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://insidecostarica.com/special_reports/2008-06/nicaragua_womens_movement.htm |title=Nicaragua: 'The Women's Movement Is in Opposition' |date=28 June 2008 |location=Montevideo |agency=IPS |publisher=Inside Costa Rica |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606102151/http://insidecostarica.com/special_reports/2008-06/nicaragua_womens_movement.htm |archive-date=6 June 2011  }}</ref> Some countries, such as Bangladesh, that nominally ban abortion, may also support clinics that perform abortions under the guise of menstrual hygiene.<ref>{{cite web|title=Surgical Abortion: History and Overview |publisher=National Abortion Federation |access-date=4 September 2006 |url=http://www.prochoice.org/education/resources/surg_history_overview.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060922152349/http://www.prochoice.org/education/resources/surg_history_overview.html |archive-date=22 September 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This is also a terminology in traditional medicine.<ref name= nations1977>{{cite journal | vauthors = Nations MK, Misago C, Fonseca W, Correia LL, Campbell OM | title = Women's hidden transcripts about abortion in Brazil | journal = Social Science & Medicine | volume = 44 | issue = 12 | pages = 1833–1845 | date = June 1997 | pmid = 9194245 | doi = 10.1016/s0277-9536(96)00293-6 | quote = Two folk medical conditions, "delayed" (atrasada) and "suspended" (suspendida) menstruation, are described as perceived by poor Brazilian women in Northeast Brazil. Culturally prescribed methods to "regulate" these conditions and provoke menstrual bleeding are also described&nbsp;... }}</ref> In places where abortion is illegal or carries heavy social stigma, pregnant women may engage in [[medical tourism]] and travel to countries where they can terminate their pregnancies.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Henshaw SK | title = The accessibility of abortion services in the United States | journal = Family Planning Perspectives | volume = 23 | issue = 6 | pages = 246–52, 263 | year = 1991 | pmid = 1786805 | doi = 10.2307/2135775 | url = http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3501603.pdf | access-date = 25 October 2017 | url-status = live | citeseerx = 10.1.1.360.6115 | jstor = 2135775 | archive-date = 24 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160324041912/http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3501603.pdf }}</ref> [[Women on Waves]] has provided medication abortion and education on a ship in international waters off the coast of countries with restrictive abortion laws.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gomperts R | title = Women on waves: where next for the abortion boat? | journal = Reproductive Health Matters | volume = 10 | issue = 19 | pages = 180–183 | date = May 2002 | pmid = 12369324 | doi = 10.1016/S0968-8080(02)00004-6 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Best A |date=2005|title=Abortion Rights along the Irish-English Border and the Liminality of Women's Experiences|journal=Dialectical Anthropology|volume=29|issue=3–4|pages=423–37|doi=10.1007/s10624-005-3863-x|s2cid=145318165|issn=0304-4092}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Lambert-Beatty C |date=2008|title=Twelve miles: Boundaries of the new art/activism|journal=Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society|volume=33|issue=2|pages=309–27|doi=10.1086/521179|s2cid=147307705}}</ref> Women without the means to travel can resort to providers of illegal abortions or attempt to perform an abortion by themselves.<ref>{{cite web |title=Need Abortion, Will Travel | vauthors = Bloom M |date=25 February 2008 |publisher=RH Reality Check |access-date=15 June 2009 |url=http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2008/02/25/need-abortion-will-travel |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081130010309/http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2008/02/25/need-abortion-will-travel |archive-date=30 November 2008  }}</ref>

===Sex-selective abortion===
{{Main|Sex-selective abortion}}

[[Medical ultrasonography|Sonography]] and [[amniocentesis]] allow parents to determine sex before childbirth. The development of this technology has led to [[sex-selective abortion and female infanticide|sex-selective abortion]], or the termination of a fetus based on its sex. The selective termination of a female fetus is most common.

Sex-selective abortion is partially responsible for the noticeable disparities between the birth rates of male and female children in some countries. The preference for male children is reported in many areas of Asia, and abortion used to limit female births has been reported in Taiwan, South Korea, India, and China.<ref>Banister, Judith. (16 March 1999). [https://www.census.gov/ipc/www/ebspr96a.html Son Preference in Asia&nbsp;– Report of a Symposium] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216134324/http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/ebspr96a.html |date=16 February 2006 }}. Retrieved 12 January 2006.</ref> This deviation from the standard birth rates of males and females occurs despite the fact that the country in question may have officially banned sex-selective abortion or even sex-screening.<ref>{{cite news| vauthors = Reaney P |agency=Reuters |url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L06779563.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060220072756/http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L06779563.htm |archive-date=20 February 2006 |title=Selective abortion blamed for India's missing girls |access-date=3 December 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sudha S, Irudaya RS | title = Female demographic disadvantage in India 1981-1991: sex selective abortions and female infanticide | journal = Development and Change | volume = 30 | issue = 3 | pages = 585–618 | date = July 1999 | pmid = 20162850 | doi = 10.1111/1467-7660.00130 | s2cid = 33446683 | url = http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/organizations/healthnet/gender/docs/sudha.html | access-date = 3 December 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030101210623/http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/organizations/healthnet/gender/docs/sudha.html | archive-date = 1 January 2003 | url-access = subscription }}</ref><ref name="LOC India">{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/sex-selection/india.php|publisher=Library of Congress|title=Sex Selection & Abortion: India|date=4 April 2011|access-date=18 July 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927234151/http://www.loc.gov/law/help/sex-selection/india.php|archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|agency=Xinhua News Agency|title=China Bans Sex-selection Abortion|url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/2003/Mar/59194.htm|access-date=2023-02-16|work=www.china.org.cn|date=March 22, 2003|archive-date=12 February 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060212204114/http://www.china.org.cn/english/2003/Mar/59194.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many countries have taken legislative steps to reduce the incidence of sex-selective abortion. At the [[International Conference on Population and Development]] in 1994 over 180 states agreed to eliminate "all forms of discrimination against the girl child and the root causes of son preference",<ref name="UNFPA">{{cite web|url=http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2011/Preventing_gender-biased_sex_selection.pdf|title=Preventing gender-biased sex selection|publisher=UNFPA|access-date=1 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011095023/https://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2011/Preventing_gender-biased_sex_selection.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> conditions also condemned by a [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|PACE]] resolution in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc11/EDOC12715.pdf |title=Prenatal sex selection |publisher=Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003133834/http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc11/EDOC12715.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2011 |access-date=17 November 2015 }}</ref> The [[World Health Organization]] and [[UNICEF]], along with other [[United Nations]] agencies, have found that measures to restrict access to abortion in an effort to reduce sex-selective abortions have unintended negative consequences, largely stemming from the fact that women may seek or be coerced into seeking unsafe, extralegal abortions.<ref name="UNFPA" /> On the other hand, measures to reduce [[gender inequality]] can reduce the prevalence of such abortions without attendant negative consequences.<ref name="UNFPA" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Das Gupta |first=Monica |date=2019 |title=Is banning sex-selection the best approach for reducing prenatal discrimination? |journal=Asian Population Studies |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=319–336|doi=10.1080/17441730.2019.1671015 |pmid=34046078 |pmc=8153244 }}</ref>

===Anti-abortion violence===
{{Main|Anti-abortion violence}}
Abortion providers and facilities have been subjected to violence, including murder, assault, arson, and bombing. Some scholars consider anti-abortion violence to be within the [[definition of terrorism]],<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wilson M, Lynxwiler J | title = Abortion clinic violence as terrorism | journal = Terrorism | volume = 11 | issue = 4 | pages = 263–273 | year = 1988 | pmid = 11618209 | doi = 10.1080/10576108808435717 }}</ref> a view shared by some governments.<ref name="csis">{{cite web | vauthors = Smith GD |publisher=Canadian Security Intelligence Service |year=1998 |url=http://www.csis-scrs.gc.ca/en/publications/commentary/com74.asp |title=Single Issue Terrorism Commentary |access-date= 1 September 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015065711/http://csis-scrs.gc.ca/en/publications/commentary/com74.asp| archive-date=15 October 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the U.S. and Canada, over 8,000 incidents of violence, trespassing, and death threats have been recorded by providers since 1977, including over 200 bombings/arsons and hundreds of assaults.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://prochoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017-NAF-Violence-and-Disruption-Statistics.pdf| title=2017 violence and disruption statistics |last=National Abortion Federation| date=2017|access-date=26 May 2019| archive-date=28 July 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728204107/https://prochoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017-NAF-Violence-and-Disruption-Statistics.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> Abortion clinics have also been targeted by [[Acid attack|acid attacks]], invasions, and vandalism<ref name="naf">{{cite web |publisher=National Abortion Federation| year=2009 |url=http://www.prochoice.org/pubs_research/publications/downloads/about_abortion/violence_stats.pdf |title=Incidence of Violence & Disruption Against Abortion Providers in the U.S. & Canada |access-date=9 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613042214/http://prochoice.org/pubs_research/publications/downloads/about_abortion/violence_stats.pdf |archive-date=13 June 2010  }}</ref> The majority of abortion opponents have not been involved in violent acts. 

Physicians and other abortion clinic staff have been murdered by abortion opponents. In the United States, at least four physicians have been murdered in connection with their work at abortion clinics, including [[David Gunn (doctor)|David Gunn]] (1993), [[John Britton (doctor)|John Britton]] (1994), [[Barnett Slepian]] (1998), and [[George Tiller]] (2009). In Canada, gynecologist [[Garson Romalis]] survived murder attempts in both 1994 and 2000. Besides physicians, killings have targeted other clinic staff, such as [[John Salvi|John Salvi's]] 1994 murder of two receptionists in Massachusetts clinic and [[Peter James Knight|Peter Knight's]] 2001 murder of a security guard in a [[Melbourne]] clinic. Notable perpetrators of anti-abortion violence include [[Eric Rudolph]], [[Scott Roeder]], [[Shelley Shannon]], and [[Paul Jennings Hill|Paul Hill]], the first person to be executed in the United States for murdering an abortion provider.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/feb/03/features11.g26 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 February 1999 |title=The bomber under siege | vauthors = Borger J |location=London |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222105914/https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/feb/03/features11.g26 |archive-date=22 February 2017  }}</ref>

Some countries have [[Legal protection of access to abortion|laws to protecting access to abortion]]. 
Such laws prevent abortion opponents from interfering with access to legal abortion services. For example, the American [[Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act]] bars the use of threats or violence to interfere with abortion access. Abortion access laws may also establish [[safe access zone]]s around abortion clinics, with limits on protests and enhanced penalties for anti-abortion violence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pridemore |first1=William Alex |author1-link=William Alex Pridemore |last2=Freilich |first2=Joshua D. |date=2007-12-01 |title=The Impact of State Laws Protecting Abortion Clinics and Reproductive Rights on Crimes Against Abortion Providers: Deterrence, Backlash, or Neither? |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-006-9078-0 |journal=Law and Human Behavior |language=en |volume=31 |issue=6 |pages=611–627 |doi=10.1007/s10979-006-9078-0 |pmid=17268826 |issn=1573-661X}}</ref>

Psychological pressure may also be used to limit abortion access. Some protestors record women entering clinics on camera.{{sfn|Doan|2007|p=2}}