Fact Check: Franks largely right on abortion laws worldwide

• Canada%2C the Netherlands%2C the U.K.%2C Japan and Norway allow abortions after 20 weeks.
• Most European countries prohibit them after 12 weeks.
• A handful%2C including Ireland%2C Poland and Chile%2C have outright bans.
• Many countries have exceptions for fetal abnormalities and the mother's health.

WHO SAID IT: Trent Franks.

TITLE: U.S. Representative, Arizona's 8th Congressional District.

PARTY: Republican.

THE COMMENT: "Almost every other civilized nation on this Earth protects pain-capable unborn babies at this age."

THE FORUM: Speech on the House floor on May 13.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT: Laws governing late-term abortions in developed countries.

ANALYSIS: Franks gave his speech before the U.S. House passed his bill banning abortions after 20 weeks.

Similar Franks-sponsored legislation stalled in the Senate in 2013, and President Barack Obama has promised to veto this year's bill if it makes it out of the Senate.

The legislation would ban all abortions after 20 weeks unless the woman's life were endangered by a physical illness or injury, or the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest that, in the case of a minor, had previously been reported to law enforcement.

Ninety percent of babies born at 27 to 28 weeks survive, according to the March of Dimes.

That figure drops dramatically earlier in a pregnancy: Only 30 percent of babies born at 23 weeks survive. No infants have survived before 21 weeks.

Franks contends that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks and that nearly all "civilized nations" ban abortion after that time. Because "civilized nation" is a subjective term, AZ Fact Check used the World Bank's 31 high-income members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for a comparison of abortion laws among more affluent nations.

Four countries on that list — Chile, Ireland, Poland and South Korea — have complete bans on abortion.

Chile's ban has no exceptions. Ireland allows it only in cases where the mother's life is at risk. Poland and South Korea both prohibit abortions except in cases of severe hereditary disorders, rape, incest or risk to the mother's health, though South Korea rarely prosecutes women seeking abortions or doctors providing them.

In Israel, abortion is illegal on paper with exceptions for women under 18 or older than 40, women having children out of wedlock or facing fetal birth defects.

In practice, the vast majority of Israeli abortions are approved and funded by the government. Women can also seek approval from a committee for abortions after 24 weeks.

In Australia, which takes a state-by-state approach to the law, similar to the United States, abortion is criminal in two states and legal up to 24, 16, 14 or 20 weeks of pregnancy in other states.

Estonia, Germany, Iceland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden also allow abortions before the 20th week with some exceptions.

Norway last year prohibited abortions after 21 weeks and six days in response to reports showing that a significant number were taking place after 20 weeks.

At the far end of the spectrum is Canada, which has no laws restricting abortion in any way. However, doctors still adhere to professional medical guidelines.

Abortion is legal until 24 weeks in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Japan.

Many European countries — Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Switzerland — limit abortion to the 12th week, but most permit later abortions in some cases.

While many other developed countries have limits on when women can receive abortions, these bans aren't necessarily equivalent to Franks' Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

Most make exceptions for fetal abnormalities, which U.S. doctors say make up the bulk of their late-term abortion requests.

Franks' legislation doesn't contain exceptions for such abnormalities.

Many countries, including Switzerland (where abortion is legal to 12 weeks), New Zealand (where it's legal up to 20 weeks) and Ireland (where it's banned with some exceptions), make late-term exceptions for the mother's mental health.

Franks' bill explicitly prohibits exceptions based on "psychological or emotional conditions."

BOTTOM LINE: Franks is correct that many developed countries have restrictions on abortion after 12 weeks, and only five of the 31 nations used as a basis for comparison allow abortion after 20 weeks.

But Franks' blanket statement doesn't take into account exceptions most of these countries make to their abortion restrictions.

The majority of countries allow exceptions for serious fetal abnormalities and a handful permit late-term abortions to protect women's mental health, neither of which are allowed under the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

THE FINDING: Three stars: mostly true

SOURCES: "House passes Rep. Trent Franks' 20-week abortion ban," The Arizona Republic, May 13; HR 36; Neonatal death, March of Dimes; World Bank list; Fact sheet: Australian abortion law and practice; Austrian law; "Belgium Eases Its Abortion Law," New York Times, March 30, 1990; "A legal history of abortion in Canada," the Pro-Choice Action Network; Abortion legislation in the Czech Republic; Denmark abortion law; Estonia abortion law; Finland abortion law; "France Eases Abortion Restrictions in Sweeping Equality Law," Time, Aug. 6, 2014; The Legal Framework of Abortions in Germany, American Institute for Contemporary German Studies; Greece abortion law; Iceland abortion law; Abortion and Irish Law, Irish Family Planning Association; "Israel's abortion law now among world's most liberal," Times of Israel, Jan. 6, 2014; Termination of Pregnancy and Abortion in Italy; Japan law; Reform in Luxembourg, Center for Reproductive Rights, Nov. 28, 2012; Abortion in the Netherlands; Abortion services in New Zealand; "Norway tightens law after late abortions revealed," The Local, Jan. 2, 2014; "Defying Poland's restrictive abortion law," Al Jazeera, Dec. 20, 2014; Termination of Pregnancy (Abortion) in Portugal; Slovenia abortion law; "Spain abortion: Rajoy scraps tighter law," BBC News, Sept. 23, 2014; Sweden Abortion Act; "The secret of Switzerland's low abortion rate," Swiss Broadcasting Corp., Oct. 2, 2012; UK National Health Service choices: Abortion.