Abstract
This brief sketch of abortion in Europe allows a few conclusions to be drawn. One, curiously, is that western Europe is slowly becoming more liberal toward abortion, while the former communist countries are becoming less liberal. Whereas twenty years ago one might have supposed that the balance in a particular country between permitting and preventing abortion might be determined by the prevailing religious view, that seems no longer to be the case. Recently attempts have been made within the European Community to harmonize views on euthanasia; some similar attempt may be made for abortion. If that happens, it may well be that next year's attempts in Germany to produce a unified abortion law will give as good an indication as any of where the balance between permission and prevention might lie in the European Community.
