Abortion in Europe

Abstract

After a review of the legal aspects of abortion in more than 25 European countries, both Western and Eastern, the author makes a comparative study of the frequency of abortion, highlighting the historical, cultural and legal specificities of the various countries of the continent. The problems of measure and quality of the data are studied so as to shed light on the limitations to comparisons. The most striking result is the great variability of situations, between countries as well as between regions of a single country. Available data does not allow in-depth differential analyses, but it evidences the variety of roles that abortion plays in the various European societies and the complexity of relations between abortion, fertility and contraception. -English summary