On 23 November 1955, the Government of the Soviet Union issued a decree which allowed abortions to be available on request. Later that year, abortion was restricted so that it could only be performed in the first three months of pregnancy, unless the birth would endanger the mother. Physicians had to perform abortions in hospitals, and unless the mother was in danger, a fee was charged.[1] If the abortion was not performed in a hospital, the physician would be imprisoned for one year.