The right to abortion during the COVID-19 pandemic in foreign countries: diversification of approaches

Abstract

The article, based on a comparative analysis of the practice of foreign countries, examines the main trends in the development of the rights to legal termination of pregnancy (abortion), which were subject to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is shown that in the context of the pandemic, access to abortion has decreased in almost all states, with a few exceptions. At the same time, significant restrictions on reproductive rights occur in the context of previously developed strategies and are directed towards the radicalization of approaches to abortion, which is demonstrated on the basis of an analysis of the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland of October 22, 2020, as an attempt by conservative politicians and the Catholic Church to finally limit reproductive choice and legitimize their priorities in the dispute about the beginning of the life of the human fetus. Ambiguous approaches to the regulation of abortion show that reforms are not complete and that abortion policy needs to be further explored during COVID-19.