Most young Chinese couples do not want to have three children due to long working or transportation times, high housing and education costs, and because they themselves are only children, they have to take care of their own parents on their own in old age. Some countries in this group are more permissive than others. In the UK, women are required to see two doctors for an abortion, but applications are usually granted up to 24 weeks, and even more so in case of serious health reasons. The National Health Service says on its website, “The decision to have an abortion is entirely up to you.” In Bolivia, for example, a woman must prove that the pregnancy poses a serious health risk or that it is the result of rape or incest. Unlike much of the rest of Asia, abortion in China is legal and very affordable. The abortion measure is part of a broader section on reproductive health that includes provisions such as increased health education and access to contraceptives. Beyond this short sentence, however, no other details were given, such as how the abortion restriction would be enforced or what criteria women should meet. However, some experts warn that it is still too early to say what impact this will have – especially since this is not the first time the government has signalled such intentions. The last ten-year plan for women`s development, published in 2011, also aimed to reduce “the rate of abortions” and unwanted pregnancies in general, improve sex education and access to contraceptives.
Other countries also allow exceptions after 12 weeks, but less generally. In France and Ireland, for example, exceptions are based on the prevention of serious health problems or death, or on the fact that the fetus has a serious and incurable disease. Abortions also remained high even after the one-child policy was relaxed and the government criminalized interruptions in sex selection. Between 2014 and 2018, an average of 9.7 million outages per year were carried out, citing data from China`s National Health Commission, according to Reuters. The illegal status of abortion worldwide is being changed due to the availability of pills that can terminate pregnancy. Historically, countries where abortion is not legal have tended to have high rates of unsafe abortions. But the pills that cause abortion are safe and easy to carry. In the most effective protocol studied, there are two drugs.
But according to recent research, only one, misoprostol, a drug used to treat stomach ulcers that is on the World Health Organization`s list of “essential medicines,” induces a complete abortion in about 80 percent or more cases. “In addition, the availability of safe and affordable services in public hospitals may be limited by a shortage of health professionals trained to provide legal abortions, or because they do not have sufficient knowledge of abortion laws,” said Siri Suh, a medical sociologist at Brandeis University who has conducted research on reproductive health in Africa. In a post-Roe v. Wade, some countries might try to get this aid or the use of pills sanctioned. In El Salvador, where abortion is banned but misoprostol is widespread, there are times when women who abort are imprisoned. “This, of course, is not a national ban on red alert abortion that would cause a great stir,” he said. “But in fact, it`s more obvious than I expected because it comes in the form of this document issued by the Council of State, a national political document.” For example, in Germany, abortion is allowed on request for up to 12 weeks and up to 22 weeks if, according to the woman, it is necessary to protect her physical or mental health or for reasons of her current or future standard of living. In Denmark, where the period is also 12 weeks, abortion is allowed after this period for reasons of health, age of the woman, income or domicile, interest or profession. While China expanded the possibility of having children to two per couple in 2016 and to three from 2021, many young people are not considering the possibility of having more than one child in addition to including exceptions for ethnic minorities (who have been allowed to exceed that number even during the one-child policy). And as is often the case in today`s modern societies, some do not want to have children at all. The economic and labor pressures that have led to this situation explain the estimate that by 2050, a quarter of China`s population will be over 65 if current trends continue.
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) overturned a 1973 decision titled “Roe v. Wade,” which guaranteed the protection of abortion rights at the federal level. According to this decision, the states of the Confederation were not to enact abortion laws during the first trimester, and the possibility of banning it was not given until the third trimester.