Voters OK Legislation Easing Abortion Rules
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Seventy-two percent of Swiss voters endorsed legislation making it easier for a woman to get an abortion within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Swiss lawmakers last year passed the measure, decriminalizing some abortions by easing the legal requirements on women and their doctors.
The new law takes effect Oct. 1. Switzerland’s current abortion law is one of the strictest in Europe, yet it is rarely enforced.
The new law still requires women to present a written request for an abortion, prove they face “distress” if they have a child and meet with their doctor in the presence of a counselor.
After 12 weeks, a woman can have an abortion if the doctor believes that her “physical integrity” will be threatened.
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