Under Alaska Statutes §§ 13.52.050–.060, the state restricts certain health care decisions by agents or surrogates and imposes obligations on providers and institutions. Section 13.52.050 prohibits an agent or surrogate from consenting to procedures classified as exceptional, such as abortion, sterilization, or psychosurgery, except when the patient’s own express instruction permits.
This case followed the death of Cristina Britez Arce in June of 1992. Britez Arce was more than 40 weeks pregnant and had experienced several risk factors during her pregnancy that went unaddressed by the health system. When Britez Arce went to the hospital, doctors took an ultrasound and told her that her fetus had died.
In Case No. 190096-2023, the Supreme Court of Chile reviewed an appeal filed by a foreign woman who had been held in pretrial detention since April 8, 2023, on drug trafficking charges. The appellant was experiencing a high-risk pregnancy, with an expected due date of October 4, 2023, and was receiving medical care at the Provincial Hospital of Huasco. The Court examined and amended the November 15, 2023, ruling of the Court of Appeals of Concepción.
Several Articles in the Penal Code of Cuba criminalize unauthorized abortion and impose penalties under specified circumstances. Article 355.1 of the Penal Code establishes penalties for causing an abortion or destroying “the product of conception” with the consent of the pregnant woman outside legally authorized circumstances. The penalty is six months to one year imprisonment, a fine of one hundred to three hundred quotas, or both.
Articles 143 to 145 regulate abortion in all forms. Abortion is punishable by one to three years of prison time if performed with the women's consent, and three to six years if without consent. If performed by a health professional, an additional disqualification penalty applies, which is two to five years (with consent) or four to seven years (without consent). Abortion caused by negligence carries six months to one year in prison, and the woman who consents to an abortion may be sentenced to one to two years in prison.
The Florida Supreme Court affirmed a trial court’s grant of temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the state’s Mandatory Delay Law. The law imposed a 24-hour waiting period on women seeking abortions. The Court explained that since the law implicated the fundamental right of privacy, it was automatically subject to strict scrutiny review. It found that the court of appeals had improperly put a burden on the challengers to establish that the law imposed a “significant restriction” on the right to privacy before applying strict scrutiny.
Under the Penal Code of Malaysia (Act 574, Chapter XVI, sections 312–316), abortion is generally criminalized except under limited statutory exceptions. Section 312 makes it an offense for any person, including a pregnant person themself, to voluntarily cause a miscarriage. The punishment is up to ten years in prison, a fine, or both.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act establishes the legal framework for abortion procedures in Barbados.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act establishes the legal framework for abortion procedures in Barbados.
Guyana’s Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (“MTPA”) was ratified in June of 1995, reforming the law relating to the termination of pregnancies. The MTPA defines the termination of pregnancy, and permits abortion, subject to specific conditions, and depending on the duration of the pregnancy. Pregnancies are permitted to be terminated by qualified medical practitioners up to eight weeks gestation.
