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Abortion laws and policies: challenges and opportunities
Author(s) -
Cook Rebecca J.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/0020-7292(89)90105-7
Subject(s) - abortion , scope (computer science) , medicine , liberalization , government (linguistics) , abortion law , family planning , law , action (physics) , health services , research methodology , environmental health , population , political science , pregnancy , linguistics , philosophy , genetics , physics , quantum mechanics , computer science , biology , programming language
An analysis of abortion law reform in all regions of the world in the past 20 years shows that countries have turned from a concentration upon criminality to a concern with women's health and family well‐being. Pragmatic approaches to achieve liberalization of abortion laws are described. Where legal reform is unlikely, specification of professional medical standards, clarification of laws and the scope of allowable action, as well as supportive statements by government officials, can facilitate services and may ultimately have a positive influence on legal reform.