Abortion in Switzerland is legal during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, upon condition of counseling, for women who state that they are in distress.
In 2014, Swiss voters rejected an initiative to remove the coverage of abortions by the public health insurance system.
However, in 1978 and 1985, initiatives for constitutional amendments aimed at making abortion harder to obtain were defeated by a wide margin at the ballot box.
In March 2001, the Swiss Federal Assembly approved a change to the penal code providing for the first trimester rule outlined above.
After the 12th week, a doctor must confirm that the bodily or psychological health of the pregnant woman would impacted by carrying out the pregnancy.
[3] Conservative parties and interest groups collected the 50,000 voters' signatures required to force a popular referendum on the amendment.
A popular initiative started by conservative groups to suppress the coverage of abortion costs by the public health insurance system[6] was rejected by about 70% of Swiss voters on 9 February 2014.
Some women who choose to terminate an unwanted pregnancy cross the border into Austria or Switzerland to undergo the procedure.