English for People

When is abortion legal?

Some societies ban abortion almost completely while others permit it in certain cases.
Such societies usually lay down a maximum age after which the foetus must not be aborted, regardless of the circumstances.
At various times some of the following have been allowed in some societies:

• abortion for the sake of the mother's health
  • including her mental health
• abortion where a pregnancy is the result of a crime
  • such as crimes like rape, incest, or child abuse
• abortion where the child of the pregnancy would have an ' unacceptable quality of life' such as cases where the child would have
  • serious physical handicaps,
  • serious genetic problems,
  • serious mental defects
• abortion for social reasons, including:
  • poverty,
  • mother unable to cope with a child (or another child),
  • mother being too young to cope with a child
• abortion as a matter of government policy
  • as a way of regulating population size
  • as a way of regulating groups within a population
  • as a way of improving the population

Most opponents of abortion agree that abortion for the sake of the mother's health can be morally acceptable if there is a real risk of serious damage to the mother.
Abortion for social reasons is usually least acceptable to opponents.

taken from BBC Ethics http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/