  Abortion

A bill to liberalise Poland's abortion law - one of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's key election promises - has failed in parliament: 215 deputies voted in favour and 218 against, with two abstentions and 23 absences. The governing coalition of liberals, moderates, conservatives and leftists is split over the legislation. Tuesday saw angry protests by the Women's Strike movement in front of the Sejm.

The US Supreme Court on Friday paved the way for bans on abortion by overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that gave women the right to decide for themselves whether to terminate or continue a pregnancy. Several states have already reacted by tightening their abortion laws, while thousands demonstrated against the decision. What does this mean for human rights?

The right to abortion is to be enshrined in the French constitution. Following last week's vote, the amendment easily secured the necessary three-fifths majority in both chambers of parliament on Monday, with 780 votes to 72. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal described the outcome as the successful conclusion of a long battle. The vast majority of French people are in favour of a liberal abortion law, which the Catholic Church opposes.

After the National Assembly approved the proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution in January, an overwhelming majority in the French Senate has also voted in favour of the move. The three-fifths majority still required in a joint vote in March is now considered a mere formality. The initiative aims to better protect the right to abortion. The press is at odds over how much sense it makes.

In Denmark, a heated debate about extending the time limit for abortions has erupted after the Danish National Centre for Ethics recommended raising it from the current 12 weeks to 18 weeks of pregnancy. The press is divided.

The US state of Kansas has backed the right to abortion: in a referendum held earlier this week, around 60 percent voted in favour of a provision in the state constitution that would allow women to decide for themselves whether to terminate or continue a pregnancy. In June, the Supreme Court overturned a 1973 landmark ruling on abortion rights. Commentators debate the significance of the vote.

Hungary has introduced a new requirement for abortions: pregnant women must now first listen to the heartbeat of their embryo before applying for an abortion with a gynaecologist. This step is meant to "unequivocally draw their attention to the presence of the embryo's vital functions". Both sharp criticism and applause for the measure can be found in Hungary's media.

Thousands of people have gathered to protest against tighter abortion legislation and the government in recent days. Last Wednesday a Supreme Court ruling came into effect under which abortion is legal only in cases when the pregnancy is a result of a criminal act when the woman's life or health is at risk.

Parliamentary groups in Estonia are allowed to spend six million euros a year on "regional investments". With this money the parties usually support projects that they consider a good cause. Now the country's three coalition partners want to pay 171,000 euros to a newly established association of anti-abortionists. A politicised issue!

The protests in Poland against more stringent abortion legislation are continuing, with roughly 100,000 people demonstrating and paralysing traffic in Warsaw on Friday. The Constitutional Court had declared abortion illegal even in the case of severe foetal defects, further tightening one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe.

Italy is changing its rules on drug-induced abortion. Health Minister Speranza announced on Saturday that from now on the administration of the abortion pill RU486 will be allowed up to the ninth week of pregnancy and without mandatory hospitalisation. The decision marks "an important step forward" while respecting the current legal situation, Speranza said. Representatives of Catholic associations have sharply criticised the move.

A parliamentary vote on the liberalisation of Belgium's abortion law was once again postponed on Thursday. The bill would allow abortions after the third month of pregnancy. A decision as important as this should be taken under a stable government, some argue. Others say these are undemocratic delaying tactics.

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) has announced that it will stop giving funds to organisations that follow the Trump administration's anti-abortion rules. Is this a logical step for effective development aid or shameful and dogmatic insistence on principles?

Ireland's government has announced that it will hold a referendum on legalising abortions in the spring. The strongly Catholic country still has one of the most stringent abortion bans in the EU, even if it was eased for the first time in 2014. While attitudes in Irish society are apparently changing, Maltese journalists have a very different opinion.

Polish pro-choice activists have called on all Polish women to strike on October 3 in protest at the planned abortion ban. The country's parliament on Friday passed a bill stipulating jail sentences for women who terminate a pregnancy. The legal amendment was set in motion by a petition. Poland is now the scene of an ethical war that is also being waged in the press.