US abortion restrictions are unlikely to influence international trends, which are largely becoming more liberal

In most countries, like the Netherlands, it has become easier to get a legal, safe abortion over the last two decades. Evert Elzinga/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

The Supreme Court’s June 24, 2022, ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade is already having profound effects across the United States, from Florida to Wisconsin. And the ruling also bucks a clear worldwide trend. In countries from Iceland to Zambia, abortion restrictions have been lifted over the last two decades, not tightened.

Today, only 24 countries out of 195 prohibit abortion, representing just 5% of women of reproductive age globally. Twice that many countries have made it easier to legally get an abortion in the past 20 years.