Considers the status of abortion in Europe in the 1990s. Each chapter provides an overview of abortion in the subject country, including the historical background; the current legal, medical and social situation; and the political forces for and against abortion.

In brief, concise chapters, this volume considers the status of abortion in Europe today. Each chapter provides an overview of abortion in the subject country, including the historical background; the current legal, medical, and social situation; and the political forces for and against abortion. In an introductory chapter, the editors consider the issues pertaining to abortion in the aftermath of the Cold War. The volume then includes chapters on Austria, Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the former Soviet Union. Each chapter was written by an authority of the country, and the contributors were asked to answer a specific set of questions concerning the law in the subject country, abortion in practice, the politics of abortion, and the future. The approach makes the book a valuable tool for comparative analysis.

Introduction: Abortion in Europe, Present and Future by Bill Rolston and Anna Eggert
Austria by Oskar Lehner
Belgium by Vicky Claeys
Britain by Madeleine Simms
Bulgaria by Dimiter Vassilev
Czech and Slovak Republics by Radim Uzel
Denmark by Nell Rasmussen
Finland by Marketta Ritamies
France by Colette Gallard
Germany by Sabine Klein-Schonnefeld
Hungary by Adam Balogh and Laszlo Lampe
Ireland by Anna Eggert and Bill Rolston
Netherlands by Evert Ketting
Norway by Brita Gulli
Poland by Jolanta Plakwicz and Eleonora Zielinska
Portugal by Duarte Vilar
Spain by Encarna Bodelon Gonzalez
Sweden by Katarina Lindahl
Switzerland by Anne-Marie Rey
USSR by Andrej Popov.