Abortion in Belarus

Abortion in Belarus has been legal since November 23, 1955, when Belarus was a republic of the Soviet Union.[1] The current abortion legislation dates from December 31, 1987 and is one of the most liberal abortion laws in Europe, allowing on-demand abortion until the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy for a variety of reasons.[1]

The 1987 law allows abortion on-demand for the traditional reasons of harm or death to the fetus and/or mother, rape and incest, as well as: the death of the husband during pregnancy, a jail sentence for either the mother or father, a court order stripping the pregnant woman of parental rights, if a household already exceeds five children, if the relationship between mother and father ends in divorce, or a family history which includes mental or physical disabilities.[1]

Once a popular method of birth control, abortions exceeded live births two-to-one in 1995.[2] The rate has now fallen by over 75%, with abortions numbering 42,000 (or 39% of the live birth rate) in 2008.[2]

As of 2010, the abortion rate was 14.7 abortions per 1000 women aged 15-44 years. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Belarus - ABORTION POLICY - United Nations
  2. 1 2 Fewer Abortions In Belarus, But More Single Mothers
  3. ↑ "World Abortion Policies 2013". United Nations. 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
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