Legal Research Reports: Laws on abortion, genetic consultation, and assisted reproduction

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Laws on abortion, genetic consultation, and assisted reproduction. 

The Law Library has published a report on the development of laws on abortion, genetic consultation, and assisted reproduction online. The report covers the laws in this area from 1945 to the current day for eleven countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and the United Kingdom. All of the countries surveyed in the report permit abortions. The dates that the countries legalized abortion vary significantly: Romania and Bulgaria were the first two countries to legalize abortion in 1936, while Spain was the last to legalize it in 1985. The time limits for and circumstances under which abortions are allowed vary from country to country. (July 2022)