Abortion in Ukraine

Abortion in Ukraine is legal on request during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. Between 12 and 28 weeks, abortion is available on a variety of grounds, including medical, social and personal grounds, and for any reason with the approval of a commission of physicians.[1]

Prior to 1991, abortion in Ukraine was governed by the abortion laws of the Soviet Union. The laws have not changed since then. Abortion rates have fallen from 109 abortions per 1000 women aged 15–44 in 1986 to 80.9 in 1991, 67.2 in 1996[1] and 27.5 in 2004.[2] As of 2010, the abortion rate was 21.2 abortions per 1000 women aged 15–44.[3] In 2014 the abortion rate in Ukraine decreased to 14.89 per 1000 women aged 15–44.[4] Abortion rates in Ukraine and Belarus have converged in recent years, creating a large gap with post-Soviet Russia.[5][nb 1]

Near the end of a long interview in 2019 during his political campaign, Volodymyr Zelenskyy (now President of Ukraine) was asked about abortion rights. The interviewer mentioned to Zelenskyy that laws are often adopted in Eastern and Central Europe that cause public outcry, saying that in Poland, for example, there were huge protests when the Polish government wanted to ban abortion. Zelenskyy stated that abortion should not be banned, that to get an abortion is a personal choice, and that there needs to be less impingement on human freedom.[7]

Notes
  1. Belarus, Russia and Ukraine were part of the Soviet Union from 1922 until its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991.[6]

References
  1. "Ukraine". Abortion Policies: A Global Review (DOC). Vol. Country Profiles. United Nations Population Division. 2002. pp. 150–152. OCLC 48213121. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  2. "World Abortion Policies 2007". United Nations. 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  3. "World Abortion Policies 2013". United Nations. 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  4. Johnston Archive
  5. Denisov, B. P.; Sakevich, V. I.; Jasilioniene, A. (2012). "Divergent Trends in Abortion and Birth Control Practices in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine". PLOS ONE. 7 (11): e49986. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...749986D. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049986. PMC 3542819. PMID 23349656.
  6. A History of Ukraine: The Land and Its Peoples by Paul Robert Magocsi, University of Toronto Press, 2010, ISBN 1442610212 (page 563/564 & 722/723)
  7. "Владимир Зеленский: Нам выгодно распустить Раду, но будем думать и поступать по закону". РБК-Украина (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-04-23.
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