Countries with fewer restrictions allow for abortions for other health-related or situational reasons — such as rape, incest, or fetal abnormality. Some nations consider socioeconomic conditions or, in the most liberal examples, allow for abortions without restrictions. In Russia, “every woman has the right to decide independently the question of motherhood,” according to federal law. Abortions are available until 12 weeks of pregnancy. Either a medical or situational reason is required in order to terminate up until 22 weeks.Great Britain allows abortion on socioeconomic grounds. However, liberal interpretation of the law has generally allowed “women to freely access abortion without jumping through hoops around whether or not it qualifies under the law,” Mayall said. Roughly three-quarters of European countries — including France, Germany, and Greece — allow a woman to have the operation for any reason, according to Amnesty International. Poland is one stark exception in Europe; the country is currently considering a total ban on the procedure.

That proposal, backed by the Catholic Church, has sparked widespread protests.“Where there have been proposals to restrict abortion laws, the women’s rights movement globally has largely been able to halt those, which is really a resounding affirmation of all of the work that has gone into advancing reproductive rights. But there are still these draconian measures that are put forth, and Poland is a good example of that,” Mayall stated.In the Middle East and North Africa, only Bahrain and Tunisia allow abortion on any grounds. According to Pew Research , many of these nations do not permit the termination of a pregnancy after a certain gestational period, such as 20 weeks.And in late 2014, after a sustained decade-long effort, Mozambique liberalized its laws to permit abortion without restrictions or reasons during the first trimester.

While there's work to be done to ensure that women have access to reproductive health services worldwide, Mayall sees some of the recent movement on legalization encouraging.“I think there is an increasing recognition that women’s right to make decisions about their reproductive autonomy is central to their well-being and has serious implications for their ability to pursue education, economic opportunity, to raise their families, and to make decisions about their personal lives," Mayall told Refinery29.And an absence of legal services, as CRR notes, doesn't necessarily mean women aren't obtaining abortions. Instead, it often means women are forced to seek out illegal and unsafe alternatives. In just one year, more than 21 million women around the world underwent unsafe abortion procedures, according to the World Health Organization. “It is not liberal abortion laws that prompt women to have abortions," CRR states. "Rather, it is the reality of living with an unwanted pregnancy."