8
Around the world, a majority of countries only permit abortion procedures to occur if a there is a valid reason, and a smaller number of countries permit abortion on demand only up until a certain point in one's pregnancy. This data serves to show that, in comparison to the rest of the world, the United States maintains some of the most leniant abortion laws. According to data from Guttmacher Institute, 19% of all pregnancies in 2014 resulted in abortion, which was a 14% decrease from 2011. Of those abortions, 75% were from women belonging to poor or low-income socioeconomic classes. According to the World Health Orginization, most unsafe abortions in 2008 occurred in developing countries where abortion laws are stricter than most, followed by Eastern Europe and Asia, while the U.S. did not have any recorded data for unsafe or illegal abortions.
On the other end
of the spectrum is
El Salvador, known
for having some of
the world's most
restrictive abortion
laws. According to
Rights, El Salvador
passed legislation
in 1998 that
banned abortions in all circumstances, making it one of six countries where abortions are illegal even if the safety and well-being of the mother is at risk. El Salvador law protects the life of unborn babies beginning from the moment of conception and classifies all abortion-related crimes as homocides, which is punishable by a prison sentence of up to 50 years. Because many healthcare professionals in the country feel obliged to