UAE now less restrictive than some US states on key law affecting women
Abortion access in the US has been more and more restricted (Picture: Reuters)
The United Arab Emirates has passed key legislation which will allow women to undergo abortions in cases of rape or incest.
The new law ensures women who are victims of rape or incest can terminate their pregnancy – an exception which is overlooked in many of the strictest US states with abortion bans.
50% of states in America which have abortion bans do not have exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
These include Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio.
Though the new UAE legislation is a landmark decision for women in the country, victims of rape or incest must be reported to authorities and subsequently proven by an official report.
The foetus must be less than 120 days old at the time of the abortion, it said, roughly 17 weeks into pregnancy.
Ten states have no exception on abortion for victims of incest or rape (Map: Aisling Le Gros)
Legislation in the US has been met by fierce protest (Picture: Shutterstock)
A source close to the matter in the UAE told The National: ‘The UAE has a penal code and has laws and procedures in place to penalise and hold perpetrators accountable, what we needed now were legislations to help resolve what may have resulted because of these crimes.’
The new law in the UAE comes on the tails of another groundbreaking law which allows women in the country to get emergency abortions without their husband’s consent.
Meanwhile in the US, abortion laws have come under harsh criticism. In April, the highest court in Arizona revived a ban on nearly all abortions based on a 19th century law.
Arizona’s Supreme Court on Tuesday sided 4-2 with an anti-abortion obstetrician and a county prosecutor who pushed for the 1864 law to be upheld.
Where are there abortion bans in the United States?
States with an abortion ban in all circumstances
Alabama
Arkansas
Idaho
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
West Virginia
States with a six-week abortion ban
Florida
Georgia
South Carolina
States with a 12-week abortion ban
North Carolina
Nebraska
States with a 15-week abortion ban
Arizona
States with a 18-week abortion ban
Utah
Other states
Iowa and Montana both have temporarily blocked bans on abortion.
Elsewhere in America, abortion remains widely legal, with higher to no gestational limits.
‘Physicians are now on notice that all abortions, except those necessary to save a woman’s life, are illegal,’ stated the court, whose justices were all appointed by Republicans.
It comes after the US Supreme Court in June 2022 overturned its landmark Roe v Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortion nationwide. The ruling left abortion rights to be determined by the states.
In March, France became the first country to put the right to abortion in the constitution.
The measure was promised by President Emmanuel Macron after the rollback of abortion rights in court rulings in the United States.
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