Women on Web
Abortion is a volatile topic at the best of times but over the past couple of years, a massive wave of both reform and pushback to abortion laws has been felt worldwide. Thanks to a global pandemic in particular, a new shift in healthcare systems is forcing us to evaluate gaps in policies that we’ve been blind to over the years, ones that no longer serve a place in today’s context. Abortion reform has exposed archaic, patriarchal, and rights-defying clauses that, quite frankly, have no place in the legislative – or physical – world anymore.
One of these clauses is spousal consent, wherein those wanting abortion services have to obtain the consent of their partner in order to receive treatment. In many cases, what spousal consent entails is a bit murky, as conservative beliefs and cultural stigma inform the language as to who is considered a spouse and whether pre-marital sexual intercourse can be publicly acknowledged as something that even happens. A spousal consent clause exists in at least 11 countries around the world, including Japan, Indonesia, Turkey, Taiwan, Kuwait, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. South Korea also required spousal consent until just recently, when its abortion laws were deemed unconstitutional, and abortion was legalized this past December.
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