Abortion in Switzerland
Encyclopedia
Abortion in Switzerland is legal during the first trimester, upon condition of counseling, for women who state that they are in distress
. It is also legal with medical indications – threat of severe physical or psychological damage to the woman – at any later time.
Persons performing illegal abortion
s are subject to payment of a monetary penalty or imprisonment of up to five years. A woman who procures an illegal abortion is subject to a payment of a monetary penalty or imprisonment of up until three years.
only with restrictive medical indications. A constitutional amendment to legalise abortion in the first trimester was narrowly defeated in a popular referendum in 1977. However, in 1978 and 1985, initiatives for constitutional amendments aiming at making abortion harder to obtain were also defeated by a wide margin at the ballot box.
The criminal prohibition on nonindicated abortions essentially ceased to be enforced towards the end of the 20th century. Abortions could be easily obtained through the cooperation of physicians, especially in the more urban cantons. In March 2001, the Swiss Federal Assembly enacted an amendment to the penal code providing for the first-trimester-rule as outlined above.
Conservative parties and interest groups collected the 50,000 voters' signatures required to force a popular referendum on the amendment. The vote was held on 2 June 2002, with 72.2% of Swiss voters supporting the change in law.
Legal abortions are now covered by the mandatory health care insurance scheme. Insured women cannot opt out from this coverage.
.
The Swiss abortion rate dropped from around 12 per thousand in the 1970s, when data first became available, to around 8 in the 1990s. It has remained stable at around 7 to 8 during the 2000s.
In 2009 the rate had dropped still further to 6.4 per 1000.
Distress (medicine)
In medicine, distress is an aversive state in which an animal is unable to adapt completely to stressors and their resulting stress and shows maladaptive behaviors...
. It is also legal with medical indications – threat of severe physical or psychological damage to the woman – at any later time.
Persons performing illegal abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s are subject to payment of a monetary penalty or imprisonment of up to five years. A woman who procures an illegal abortion is subject to a payment of a monetary penalty or imprisonment of up until three years.
Legal history
Up until 2002, abortion was – technically – legally available in SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
only with restrictive medical indications. A constitutional amendment to legalise abortion in the first trimester was narrowly defeated in a popular referendum in 1977. However, in 1978 and 1985, initiatives for constitutional amendments aiming at making abortion harder to obtain were also defeated by a wide margin at the ballot box.
The criminal prohibition on nonindicated abortions essentially ceased to be enforced towards the end of the 20th century. Abortions could be easily obtained through the cooperation of physicians, especially in the more urban cantons. In March 2001, the Swiss Federal Assembly enacted an amendment to the penal code providing for the first-trimester-rule as outlined above.
Conservative parties and interest groups collected the 50,000 voters' signatures required to force a popular referendum on the amendment. The vote was held on 2 June 2002, with 72.2% of Swiss voters supporting the change in law.
Legal abortions are now covered by the mandatory health care insurance scheme. Insured women cannot opt out from this coverage.
Statistics
In 2005, 15% of all pregnancies in Switzerland were terminated by abortion. The abortion rate was 7 out of 1,000 women resident in the country, or 6 out of 1,000 women aged 15 to 19. 95% of abortions took place within the first trimester, and 50% of the women who had an abortion were aliensAlien (law)
In law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen of that country.-Categorization:Types of "alien" persons are:*An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country...
.
The Swiss abortion rate dropped from around 12 per thousand in the 1970s, when data first became available, to around 8 in the 1990s. It has remained stable at around 7 to 8 during the 2000s.
In 2009 the rate had dropped still further to 6.4 per 1000.