Summary

Summary

GENEVA, 23.09.2025—New analysis from the Center for Reproductive Rights highlights a trend of ongoing progress on abortion law across Europe, with an increasing number of countries reforming legal frameworks to expand access and move laws into line with international human rights and public health standards. Yet despite progress, harmful barriers to care persist in many countries across the region, while a handful of outliers continue to enforce highly restrictive laws.

Analysis

Analysis

Published ahead of International Safe Abortion Day, Europe Abortion Laws 2025: Policies, Progress and Challenges provides a comprehensive, data-driven overview of abortion law and policy in 49 European countries. It showcases recent reforms and legislative trends, and highlights ongoing legal gaps that undermine access to care across the region.

As the publication outlines, 43 of 49 countries now allow abortion on request at least during early pregnancy, and in the past decade 20 have enacted meaningful reforms  to dismantle harmful barriers. Yet, in some of these countries access remains challenging due to legal barriers like mandatory waiting periods, biased counselling requirements and high out-of-pocket costs. Meanwhile, five outliers—Poland, Malta, Andorra, Liechtenstein and Monaco—still retain highly restrictive laws that prohibit abortion almost entirely, forcing many women to seek care abroad or outside of legal pathways. In 7 countries, new regressive barriers have been introduced, placing them out-of-step with the general trend towards repeal of restrictions.

Conclusion

Conclusion

The Center for Reproductive Rights analysis sets out clear recommendations for how national governments can bring laws into line with international obligations and clinical best practices, and also calls on the European Union to play a stronger role in safeguarding reproductive rights across the EU, by issuing guidance to its Member States, monitoring threats of regression and supporting cross-border access to care.

Note to Editors

Note to Editors

This analysis is grounded in a comprehensive review of primary legal sources, including national laws, policies and regulations in all 49 European countries. By relying on official legal texts rather than secondary reporting, it provides the most accurate, up-to-date and authoritative analysis of abortion law and policy across Europe.

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