فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

It is estimated that one-fourth of 910000 pregnancies worldwide are unwanted and 150000 cases end in abortion among which 500 cases lead to death. Unsafe abortion is a life-threatening outcome of unwanted pregnancy and a major cause of mortality among mothers. Throughout the history, abortion legislations in each country have been subject to changes due to religious, political, and legal issues. Although Islam and most other religions ban abortion, the problems caused by its absolute prohibition have forced many countries to take a realistic approach and allow for abortion to save maternal life and also in case of rape or incest, fetal defects, and particular socioeconomic conditions. In order to prevent the negative consequences of illegal abortion and protect women’s rights, further research is required to facilitate the legislation or adaptation of laws while taking a novel attitude toward abortion. Therefore, the present study compared abortion laws in different countries of the world. The findings indicated that various procedures are employed to obtain an abortion in different countries. Moreover, despite the general prohibition of abortion in traditional Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic countries tend to legalize it under certain circumstances. More accurate legislation in this regard is thus warranted in Iran.