Abstract：
Ministerial Approvals in 2021 clearly articulated for the first time the wide range of circumstances under which abortion in Lao People\'s Democratic Republic (PDR) is legal. These approvals likely reflect norms around abortion existent since the establishment of the Lao PDR in 1975: unregulated abortion is and remains illegal, but abortion that meets certain criteria is and has always been legal in Lao PDR. The legal status of abortion was fuzzy in practice until 2021, likely due to cultural factors. Buddhist conceptions of life and morality contribute to a widespread sense that abortion is fundamentally wrong and ought to be illegal. Laos\' political culture strongly values solidarity, meaning prolonged public discussion of potentially divisive topics is rare. As a result, abortion is often misunderstood in international research. For instance, Laos regularly appears on lists of the few countries where abortion is completely banned. Abortion is also not a politically charged topic in Lao PDR. Women\'s experiences of accessing abortion are not rooted in a rights-based discourse. Instead, abortion is a possible (and legal) path in Laos, but one that entails considerable anguish and concern about its moral and ethical consequences.
摘要：
2021年的部长级批准首次明确阐明了在老挝人民民主共和国（PDR）堕胎合法的广泛情况。这些批准可能反映了自1975年老挝人民民主共和国成立以来存在的堕胎规范：不受管制的堕胎是并且仍然是非法的，但符合某些标准的堕胎在老挝一直是合法的。在2021年之前，堕胎的法律地位在实践中是模糊的，这可能是由于文化因素。佛教的生活和道德观念使人们普遍认为堕胎从根本上是错误的，应该是非法的。老挝的政治文化强烈重视团结，这意味着长时间公开讨论潜在的分歧话题是罕见的。因此,堕胎在国际研究中经常被误解。例如,老挝经常出现在少数几个完全禁止堕胎的国家名单上。在老挝人民民主共和国，堕胎也不是一个政治话题。妇女获得堕胎的经历并不植根于基于权利的话语。相反，在老挝，堕胎是一条可能的(也是合法的)道路，但这需要相当大的痛苦和对其道德和伦理后果的担忧。
