a ruleTravelling for a termination
also: abortion access across borders · the residence bar
The bar is rarely a border. It is usually a waiting period, a second signature, or a rule about who counts as resident.
Where a termination may lawfully be performed, on what grounds and to what gestational limit, and whether the law reaches someone who does not live there. The rows below record the position for an adult traveller: a row is marked lawful-with-conditions where a condition binds an adult who has come from elsewhere — grounds rather than request, spousal consent, a mandatory wait — and residents-only where the statute itself excludes non-residents.
The story Cited · cz-act-66-1986
Two statutes in this table exclude a non-resident outright, and one of them is not the one usually named.
Singapore's is written on the face of the Act. Section 3 of the Termination of Pregnancy Act 1974 confines treatment to citizens, to wives of citizens, to work-pass holders and their wives, or to a person who has been "a resident in Singapore for a period of at least 4 months immediately preceding" — with one exception, where the procedure is needed to save the woman's life.
Czechia's is older and quieter. Section 10 of zákon č. 66/1986 Sb. bars the procedure for foreign women who are in the country only temporarily. The provision is unamended and in force. The WHO Global Abortion Policies Database, which is the best comparative source in this field, records other Czech restrictions and not this one; it was read in the statute directly.
Everywhere else the friction is procedural, and procedure is what defeats a traveller. Italy invites a seven-day pause. Germany requires counselling and then three days. Belgium, six. Hungary, Portugal and Ireland, three. Singapore and Malaysia, two. Thailand requires counselling on alternatives between 12 and 20 weeks. Inference — a waiting period is a residence requirement for anyone who has to buy two flights, and none of these statutes were written with that in mind.
The consent rules do the same work by another route. Japan's Maternal Health Act still requires the spouse's consent, waived only where the spouse is unknown, unable to express an intention, or dead. Taiwan and Türkiye require it on named grounds. Indonesia requires the husband's permission except for victims of rape. Korea's criminal provisions lapsed after the 2019 Constitutional Court decision and were never replaced, leaving a Mother and Child Health Act that was never amended and still carries spousal consent.
The two long-standing destinations in this table admit non-residents by the plain text of their statutes. The Netherlands' Act has no residence bar and no week limit on its face; the word for residence appears only in the statistical reporting article. Great Britain's Abortion Act 1967 has no residence or nationality requirement anywhere in section 1 — its constraints are the grounds, the two doctors' good-faith opinion and the approved place.
How it works Cited · who-gapd
Reading a row: a gestational limit is counted from a date the statute names, and states do not all count from the same date — last menstrual period in Switzerland, conception in Belgium. A ground-based regime is not a limit regime, and a law that permits a termination does not oblige any particular doctor to perform one; conscientious objection is separately provided for in most of these systems and is not recorded here.
This table does not record cost, availability, distance to the nearest provider, or whether the procedure is funded. Ireland's row is the clearest case of the difference: lawful for a non-resident, free only for the ordinarily resident.
Today Cited · who-gapd
As of 17 September 2026 most rows below are read in the WHO Global Abortion Policies Database's country records, which embed the survey data and the retrieved statute text, and several were additionally read against the national statute database — the URL on each row says which. The WHO database is not uniformly current: its last-updated dates run from 2017 for Morocco, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to 2026 for Kenya, Mexico and Indonesia. Italy's seven-day pause and Malta's near-total prohibition are named in the narrative above and do not carry rows of their own.
Where it stands Cited · who-gapd
The 25 readings behind this grid
One row is one reading of one named instrument on one date. Law moves.
| Question | Jurisdiction | Status | Instrument | Conditions | Read | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travelling for a termination | Australia | Not read by this project | 2026-09-17 | source | ||
| Travelling for a termination | Belgium | Lawful, with conditions | Loi du 15 octobre 2018 relative à l'interruption volontaire de grossesse, article 2 | Twelve weeks from conception, and not until six days after the first consultation. | 2026-09-17 | |
| Travelling for a termination | Canada | Lawful for a visitor | R. v. Morgentaler, [1988] 1 S.C.R. 30, with the Canada Health Act | No criminal abortion law and no gestational limit in federal law. Provincial insurance coverage varies, which is a funding question rather than a legal bar. | 2026-09-17 | source |
| Travelling for a termination | Switzerland | Lawful, with conditions | Code pénal suisse, articles 118, 119 et 120 | Twelve weeks from the last menstrual period, on the written request of a woman invoking distress, after an in-depth consultation. | 2026-09-17 | |
| Travelling for a termination | Czechia | Residents only | Zákon č. 66/1986 Sb., o umělém přerušení těhotenství, §§ 4 and 10 | Twelve weeks on written request for a resident — but § 10 bars the procedure for foreign women who are in the country only temporarily. A second termination within six months is also barred. | 2026-09-17 | |
| Travelling for a termination | Germany | Lawful, with conditions | Strafgesetzbuch § 218a, with § 219 | Twelve weeks, after mandatory counselling and a wait of at least three days before the procedure. No residence condition. | 2026-09-17 | |
| Travelling for a termination | Spain | Lawful for a visitor | Ley Orgánica 2/2010, artículos 3, 13 bis y 14 | Fourteen weeks at the woman's request. Article 3.2 extends the rights it sets out to all persons present in Spain. | 2026-09-17 | |
| Travelling for a termination | France | Lawful for a visitor | Code de la santé publique, article L2212-1, as amended by loi n° 2022-295 | To the end of the fourteenth week on request; the article carries no residence condition. | 2026-09-17 | |
| Travelling for a termination | United Kingdom | Lawful, with conditions | Abortion Act 1967, section 1 | Grounds-based: two registered medical practitioners must be of the opinion, formed in good faith, that a ground is met, and the treatment must be at an approved place. Ground (a) runs to 24 weeks. There is no residence or nationality requirement anywhere in section 1. | 2026-09-17 | |
| Travelling for a termination | Indonesia | Lawful, with conditions | Undang-Undang No. 17 Tahun 2023 tentang Kesehatan, with PP 28/2024 and the 2023 Criminal Code | Rape or sexual violence, or a medical emergency. The husband's permission is required except for victims of rape, and counselling is mandatory. | 2026-09-17 | source |
| Travelling for a termination | Ireland | Lawful, with conditions | Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, section 12 | Twelve weeks, with a waiting period of not less than three days. There is no residence bar on lawfulness — section 20 expressly contemplates a woman who resides outside the State — but free care is confined to the ordinarily resident, which is a funding rule and not a legal one. | 2026-09-17 | |
| Travelling for a termination | India | Lawful, with conditions | The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971, with the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021 | Grounds-based rather than on request. Only the consent of the woman is required; a guardian consents under 18. | 2026-09-17 | source |
| Travelling for a termination | Japan | Lawful, with conditions | 母体保護法 (Maternal Health Act, Act No. 156 of 1948), article 14 | Grounds-based, including economic grounds, and the consent of the spouse is required — waived only where the spouse is unknown, cannot express an intention, or is dead. | 2026-09-17 | source |
| Travelling for a termination | Mexico | Lawful, with conditions | Federal Penal Code as amended, with Supreme Court decisions 2017/148 (2021) and 267/2023 | Federal criminalisation has been struck down, and the position is governed mainly at state level rather than nationally. This project has read no state code. | 2026-09-17 | source |
| Travelling for a termination | Netherlands | Lawful for a visitor | Wet afbreking zwangerschap (Wet van 1 mei 1981), articles 3 and 6, as amended in 2022 | 2026-09-17 | ||
| Travelling for a termination | Philippines | Prohibited | Revised Penal Code (1930), articles 256 to 259 | 2026-09-17 | source | |
| Travelling for a termination | Poland | Lawful, with conditions | Ustawa z dnia 7 stycznia 1993 r. o planowaniu rodziny, ochronie płodu ludzkiego i warunkach dopuszczalności przerywania ciąży (Dz.U. 1993 nr 17 poz. 78) | Grounds only: danger to life or health, and pregnancy resulting from a criminal act. The fetal-defect ground was struck down by the Constitutional Tribunal in 2020. | 2026-09-17 | source |
| Travelling for a termination | Portugal | Lawful, with conditions | Código Penal, artigo 142.º, as amended by Lei n.º 16/2007 | Ten weeks by the woman's choice, after a reflection period of not less than three days. | 2026-09-17 | |
| Travelling for a termination | Romania | Not read by this project | 2026-09-17 | source | ||
| Travelling for a termination | Singapore | Residents only | Termination of Pregnancy Act 1974, section 3, with the Termination of Pregnancy Regulations 1987 | Twenty-four weeks, but section 3 confines treatment to citizens, wives of citizens, work-pass holders and their wives, or a person resident in Singapore for at least four months immediately preceding — the only exception being where the procedure is necessary to save the woman's life. A two-day waiting period follows counselling. | 2026-09-17 | source |
| Travelling for a termination | Thailand | Lawful, with conditions | Criminal Code sections 301 and 305, as amended by the Criminal Code Amendment Act (No. 28) B.E. 2564 (2021) | On request to 12 weeks. Between 12 and 20 weeks an examination and counselling on alternatives are required under a 2022 decree. | 2026-09-17 | source |
| Travelling for a termination | Tunisia | Lawful for a visitor | Code pénal, article 214 | The first three months on request; no spousal or parental consent recorded. | 2026-09-17 | source |
| Travelling for a termination | Turkey | Lawful, with conditions | Nüfus Planlaması Hakkında Kanun (Kanun No. 2827), Madde 5 ve Madde 6 | Ten weeks on request, and the consent of the husband is required for a married woman. | 2026-09-17 | source |
| Travelling for a termination | United States of America | No instrument either way | Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022) | 2026-09-17 | source | |
| Travelling for a termination | South Africa | Lawful for a visitor | Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act 92 of 1996, as amended in 2008, with Regulation 168 of 1997 | Twelve weeks at the woman's request. No spousal consent, no parental consent, no counselling requirement, and no citizenship or residence bar recorded. | 2026-09-17 | source |
The whole grid across every question: the rules page.
The particulars
| kind | prohibition |
|---|---|
| status | in-force |
| region | Everywhere |
| confidence | medium · needs verification · updated 2026-09-17 |
What it connects to
Pages that point here
Sources
- Global Abortion Policies Database — World Health Organization (HRP) · link (read 2026-09-16)
- Wet afbreking zwangerschap (Wet van 1 mei 1981), artikelen 3, 6 en 11, as amended by the Wet van 22 augustus 2022 (Stb. 2022, 326) — Overheid.nl, wetten.overheid.nl · link (read 2026-09-17)
- Abortion Act 1967, section 1 — The National Archives, legislation.gov.uk · link (read 2026-09-16)
- Zákon č. 66/1986 Sb., o umělém přerušení těhotenství, § 10 — Zákony pro lidi (AION CS), consolidated Czech statute text · link (read 2026-09-16)
- Termination of Pregnancy Act 1974, section 3 (restriction on treatment) — Singapore Statutes Online, Attorney-General's Chambers · link (read 2026-09-16)
- Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, section 12 — Irish Statute Book, Office of the Attorney General · link (read 2026-09-16)
- Strafgesetzbuch § 218a — Straflosigkeit des Schwangerschaftsabbruchs — Bundesministerium der Justiz, gesetze-im-internet.de · link (read 2026-09-16)
- Ley Orgánica 2/2010, de salud sexual y reproductiva y de la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo, artículo 14 — Boletín Oficial del Estado · link (read 2026-09-16)
- Code de la santé publique, article L2212-1, as amended by loi n° 2022-295 — Légifrance, Government of France · link (read 2026-09-17)
- Loi du 15 octobre 2018 relative à l'interruption volontaire de grossesse, article 2 — Service public fédéral Justice, Belgium (ejustice) · link (read 2026-09-17)
- Código Penal, artigo 142.º, as amended by Lei n.º 16/2007 — Diário da República, Portugal · link (read 2026-09-17)
- Ustawa z dnia 7 stycznia 1993 r. o planowaniu rodziny, ochronie płodu ludzkiego i warunkach dopuszczalności przerywania ciąży, art. 4a — Internetowy System Aktów Prawnych, Sejm RP · link (read 2026-09-16)
- Nüfus Planlaması Hakkında Kanun (Kanun No. 2827), Madde 5 — Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi, Republic of Türkiye · link (read 2026-09-16)
- Code pénal suisse, articles 118, 119 et 120 — Fedlex, the Swiss federal law portal · link (read 2026-09-17)
- Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022), slip opinion — Supreme Court of the United States · link (read 2026-09-16)
- Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act 92 of 1996, section 2 — Government of South Africa · link (read 2026-09-16)
- The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021 — World Health Organization, Global Abortion Policies Database country record for India · link (read 2026-09-17)
- ประมวลกฎหมายอาญา มาตรา 301 และ 305, as amended by the Criminal Code Amendment Act (No. 28) B.E. 2564 (2021) — World Health Organization, Global Abortion Policies Database country record for Thailand · link (read 2026-09-17)
- 母体保護法 (Maternal Health Act, Act No. 156 of 1948), article 14 — World Health Organization, Global Abortion Policies Database country record for Japan · link (read 2026-09-17)
- Undang-Undang No. 17 Tahun 2023 tentang Kesehatan, with PP 28/2024 and KUHP 2023 Pasal 463 — World Health Organization, Global Abortion Policies Database country record for Indonesia · link (read 2026-09-17)
- R. v. Morgentaler, [1988] 1 S.C.R. 30, with the Canada Health Act — World Health Organization, Global Abortion Policies Database country record for Canada · link (read 2026-09-17)
- 優生保健法 第九條 (Genetic Health Act, article 9) — Laws and Regulations Database of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Ministry of Justice · link (read 2026-09-17)
- I need an abortion — Women on Web · link (read 2026-09-16)
Where it came from: Cited a source named here · Harvested pulled from an open dataset · Trade practice how the trade works, hedged · Inference this project's own reasoning · Field somebody stood there. This record as JSON.