In its 3rd UPR cycle in November 2021, no country made a recommendation directly addressing abortion, but Thailand supported recommendations on the right to health and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) that inherently include abortion, notably from Uruguay (51.116), Bhutan (51.117), Malaysia (51.124) and Iceland (52.71, noted). Five years on, Thailand has legalised abortion up to 12 weeks (Section 305 of the Criminal Code, in force from 7 February 2021), and both the National Health Security Office (NHSO) and, since April 2025, the Social Security Office (SSO) subsidise safe abortion services free of charge for Thai nationals and, in the case of the SSO scheme, for migrant workers enrolled in social security. Yet six years after legalisation, the gap between law and practice remains wide.

In 2026, only 171 of over 1,400 hospitals nationwide (approximately 10 percent) provide abortion services; 26 out of 77 provinces have no provider at all; only 20 percent of facilities offer services for pregnancies between 12 and 20 weeks; and only four facilities, all private, offer services beyond 20 weeks. Section 301 of the Criminal Code continues to criminalise abortion outside the legal framework with up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to 10,000 baht. Structural stigma among healthcare providers, unmonitored conscientious objection, unlawful additional screening requirements imposed by facilities, digital-platform censorship of SRHR information, and the near-total absence of information in languages other than Thai continue to obstruct access. In 2025, both the CEDAW Committee (Concluding Observations on Thailand's 8th periodic report, adopted 10 July 2025) and the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health (Tlaleng Mofokeng, preliminary observations following her February 2025 visit to Thailand) urged the accelerated decriminalisation of abortion. More than a year later, the Thai government has yet to act on these recommendations. This factsheet identifies five priority challenges and provides recommendations to the Royal Thai Government (RTG) and UPR Member States to close the gap between law and practice.