New limits on abortion rights are being pursued in the US and other countries.
Amnesty International has “fervently” called on United States authorities to protect the right of abortion as the country’s top court appears set to vote to overturn the Roe v Wade decision that legalised abortion nationwide, according to a leaked initial draft majority opinion published by Politico on Monday. “While moves to decriminalise and legalise abortion in places like Argentina, Ireland, Mexico and Colombia in the last few years have been a huge win for the global community, there are grim signs that the United States is out of step with the progress that the rest of the world is making in protecting sexual and reproductive rights,” Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard said on Tuesday. “We fervently call on the US authorities to protect the right to legal and safe abortion. Anything less would be a gross failure to uphold human rights, including the rights to life, health, bodily autonomy, privacy and dignity” Callamard added.
As new limits on abortion rights are pursued in the US and other countries, here is a look at global abortion statistics and some of the world’s strictest abortion laws: 
There are 16 countries where abortion is prohibited altogether, a list that includes Egypt, Iraq, the Philippines, Laos, Senegal, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
About three dozen other countries allow it only to save the life of the mother, a list that includes Nigeria, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Iran, Afghanistan and Myanmar. Around 40 percent of women of reproductive age live in places where abortion access is illegal or limited. ..Source: aljazera.com
Monday, May 4, 2026
