FACTBOX: Abortion law around the world

(Reuters) - Britain will mark the 40th anniversary of the day the Abortion Act came into force on April 28, 1968.

Studies by the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organisation, published last October, show the number of abortions worldwide fell to less than 42 million in 2003 from 46 million in 1995.

Here is an overview of the abortion law in some countries:

UNITED KINGDOM - Abortion has been legal in Britain since 1968 for pregnancies up to 24 weeks. The British law does not apply to Northern Ireland, which retains many restrictions on abortion.

CHINA - The world's most populous country with 1.2 billion people, China limits most families to one child and encourages abortion as a way of controlling population growth.

INDIA - With a population of more than 1 billion, India allows abortion within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy if a qualified doctor says it is necessary to save the mother's life.

-- If the pregnancy is more than 12 weeks but less than 20, two registered medical practitioners must agree an abortion is necessary. The written consent of the woman, or of the guardian if the woman is under 18 or mentally challenged, is required for an abortion.

AUSTRALIA - Abortion is not legal in six states and two territories, but is officially allowed if a woman's life is at risk. Many women circumvent the law using 1960s and 1970s common law rulings which permit abortion on social and economic grounds. Restrictions on abortion vary by jurisdiction and women are allowed abortion on demand in the state of Western Australia.

EUROPE - The legal abortion period is 10 weeks in France, Greece, Denmark, Norway and Portugal, 12 weeks in Germany, Belgium and Austria and 22 to 24 weeks in Britain, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Malta, Ireland and Poland still have highly restrictive abortion laws.