It is estimated that around 150,000 pregnancies are terminated worldwide each day. Around 500 women, many of them young, will lose their lives as a result of unsafe abortions. A quarter of the world's population live in countries where terminations are completely or almost completely prohibited. In this work, revised from the hardback with up-to-date information, the various issues surrounding the abortion debate are discussed: does abortion encourage teenage pregnancy? How late should abortion be permitted? Does it harm the woman's physical and/or mental health? And does a foetus have the right to life?