Societal attitudes towards abortion
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Societal attitudes towards abortion have varied throughout different historal periods and cultures. One manner of assessing such attitudes in the modern era has been to conduct opinion polls to measure levels of public opinion on abortion.
Contents |
[edit] Attitudes by region
[edit] Africa
- South Africa: A 2003 Human Sciences Research Council study examined moral attitudes among South Africans: [1]
- 56% said they believed that abortion is wrong even if there is a strong chance of serious defect in the fetus. The breakdown by race was 64% among black people, 23% among white people, 41% among people of mixed race, and 37% among Indian people.
- 70% said they believed that abortion is wrong if done primarily because the parents have low income and may be unable to afford another child. The breakdown by race was 74% among black people, 57% among white people, 57% among people of mixed race, and 59% among Indian people.
[edit] Europe
- Republic of Ireland: A September 2005 Irish Examiner/Lansdowne poll found that 36% believe abortion should be legalized while 47% do not. [2] See Abortion in Ireland for further polls.
- United Kingdom: An online YouGov/Daily Telegraph poll in August 2005 found that 30% of Britons would back a measure to reduce the legal limit for abortion to 20 weeks, 25% support maintaining the current limit of 24 weeks, 19% support a limit of 12 weeks, 9% support a limit of less than 12 weeks, and 6% responded that abortion should never be allowed while 2% said it should be permitted throughout pregnancy.[3] See Abortion in the United Kingdom for further polls.
[edit] 2005 poll of ten countries
A May 2005 Euro RSCG/TNS Sofres poll examined attitutes toward abortion in 10 European countries, asking polltakers whether they agreed with the statement, "If a woman doesn't want children, she should be allowed to have an abortion?"[4]
- Czech Republic: 66% of Czechs said "very much", 15% "a little", 8% "not really", and 10% "not at all".
- Finland: 54% of Finnish people said "very much", 20% "a little", 9% "not really", and 13% "not at all".
- France: 55% of French people said "very much", 23% "a little", 8% "not really", and 13% "not at all".
- Germany: 40% of Germans said "very much", 24% "a little", 10% "not really", and 24% "not at all".
- Italy: 29% of Italian people said "very much", 24% "a little", 16% "not really", and 25% "not at all".
- Netherlands: 37% of Dutch people said "very much", 22% "a little", 11% "not really", and 26% "not at all".
- Poland: 23% of Poles said "very much", 24% "a little", 19% "not really", and 29% "not at all".
- Portugal: 32% of Portuguese people said "very much", 20% "a little", 12% "not really", and 30% "not at all".
- Spain: 41% of Spanish people said "very much", 18% "a little", 8% "not really", and 27% "not at all".
- United Kingdom: 43% of Britons said "very much", 23% "a little", 10% "not really", and 19% "not at all".
[edit] Eastern Europe/Eurasia study
An April 2003 CDC/ORC Macro report examined public sentiment on abortion among women aged 15 to 44 in six Eastern European and Eurasian countries, asking, "Do you think that a woman always has the right to decide about her pregnancy, including whether to have an abortion?"[5]
- Azerbaijan (2001): 80% thought a woman always had the right to an abortion and 20% did not. Of those 20%, 83% believed abortion was acceptable in cases of life endangerment, 80% in cases of fetal defects, 70% in cases of risk to health, 67% in cases of rape, 65% if the family could not financially support a child, and 66% if the woman was unmarried.
- Czech Republic (1993): 85% thought a woman always had the right to an abortion in the Czech Republic and 15% did not. Of those 15%, 91% believed abortion was acceptable in cases of life endangerment, 74% in cases of fetal defects, 72% in cases of risk to health, 71% in cases of rape, 16% if the family could not financially support a child, and 8% if the woman was unmarried.
- Georgia (1999): 79% thought a woman always had the right to an abortion and 21% did not. Of those 21%, 80% believed abortion was acceptable in cases of life endangerment, 80% in cases of fetal defects, 70% in cases of risk to health, 40% in cases of rape, 23% if the family could not financially support a child, and 22% if the woman was unmarried.
- Moldova (1997): 81% thought a woman always had the right to an abortion and 19% did not. Of those 19%, 71% believed abortion was acceptable in cases of life endangerment, 88% in cases of fetal defects, 38% in cases of risk to health, 43% in cases of rape, 32% if the family could not financially support a child, and 16% if the woman was unmarried.
- Romania (1999): 78% thought a woman always had the right to an abortion and 22% did not. Of those 22%, 69% believed abortion was acceptable in cases of life endangerment, 70% in cases of fetal defects, 52% in cases of risk to health, 42% in cases of rape, 29% if the family could not financially support a child, and 23% if the woman was unmarried.
- Russia (1996): 72% thought a woman always had the right to an abortion and 28% did not.
[edit] North & Central America
- Canada: Gallup in December 2001, asked, "Do you think abortions should be legal under any circumstances, legal only under certain circumstances or illegal in all circumstances and in what circumstances?" 32% responded that they believe abortion should be legal in all circumstances, 52% that it should be legal in certain circumstances, and 14% that it should be legal in no circumstances. See Abortion in Canada for further polls.
- Mexico: A November 2005 IMO survey found that 73.4% think abortion should not be legalized while 11.2% think it should.[6]
- Nicaragua: An August-September 2006 Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll on the legality of abortion to save a woman's life found that 20% of respondents felt strongly that it should be "legal", 49% felt somewhat that it should be "legal", 18% felt strongly that it should be "illegal", and 10% felt somewhat that it should be "illegal".[7]
- Panama: A May 2005 Dichter & Neira/La Prensa poll found that 89.4% disagreed with abortion and 8.3% agreed.[8]
- United States: A January 2006 CBS News poll, asked, "What is your personal feeling about abortion?", and 33% said that it should be "permitted only in cases such as rape, incest or to save the woman's life", 27% said that abortion should be "permitted in all cases", 15% that it should be "permitted, but subject to greater restrictions than it is now", 17% said that it should "only be permitted to save the woman's life", and 5% said that it should "never" be permitted.[9] See Abortion in the United States for further polls.
[edit] Oceania & Australasia
- Australia: In a February 2005 ACNielsen poll, as reported in The Age, 56% thought the current abortion laws, which generally allow abortion for the sake of life or health, were "about right", 16% want changes in law to make abortion "more accessible", and 17% want changes to make it "less accessible."[10] See Abortion in Australia for further polls.
[edit] South America
- Argentina: A December 2003 Graciela Romer y Asociados survey found that 30% thought that abortion in Argentina should be allowed "regardless of situation", 47% that it should be allowed "under some circumstances", and 23% that it should not be allowed "regardless of situation".[11]
- Brazil: An August 2006 Datafolha/Folha de Sao Paulo poll found that 63% believe that their country's current law — which allows abortion in cases of rape or endangerment to life — "should not be modified", 17% that it should be expanded "to allow abortion in other cases", 11% that abortion should be "decriminalized", and 9% were "unsure".[12]
- Chile: A July 2006 MORI survey found that 26% believe that abortion is "justified" while 74% believe that it is not.[13]
- Colombia: A July 2005 YanHaas/Radio RCN poll found that 65.6% said they thought that abortion should remain illegal, 26.9% that it should be made legal, and 7.5% that they were unsure.[14]
[edit] Attitudes by religion
[edit] Christianity
An October 2006 Pew Research Center survey of moral opinion among Christians in 10 countries asked "... [Do] you think abortion can always be justified, sometimes be justified, or never be justified?"[15]
| Country | "Always justified" | "Sometimes justified" | "Never justified" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 4% | 16% | 79% |
| Chile | 4% | 23% | 71% |
| Guatemala | 3% | 10% | 85% |
| India (localities) | 9% | 19% | 68% |
| Kenya | n/a | 11% | 88% |
| Nigeria | 1% | 4% | 94% |
| Philippines | n/a | 3% | 97% |
| South Africa | 8% | 16% | 73% |
| South Korea | 0% | 45% | 54% |
| United States | 5% | 46% | 45% |
The poll also asked respondents whether they agreed with the statement, "The government should not interfere with a woman’s ability to have an abortion".
| Country | "Completely agree" | "Mostly agree" | "Mostly disagree" | "Competely disagree" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 35% | 13% | 15% | 34% |
| Chile | 22% | 24% | 23% | 25% |
| Guatemala | 31% | 27% | 11% | 28% |
| India (localities) | 24% | 22% | 18% | 33% |
| Kenya | 14% | 4% | 12% | 69% |
| Nigeria | 20% | 10% | 18% | 46% |
| Philippines | 12% | 13% | 18% | 56% |
| South Africa | 21% | 25% | 19% | 28% |
| South Korea | 6% | 56% | 31% | 3% |
| United States | 40% | 24% | 12% | 20% |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Rule, Stephen. (2004). Rights or wrongs? Public attitudes towards moral values. HSRC Review, 2 (3). Retrieved March 25, 2007.
- ^ Connolly, Shaun. (September 22, 2005). "Under-35s largely in favour of legalising abortion." Irish Examiner. Retrieved February 12, 2007.
- ^ YouGov. (2005-07-30). YouGov/Daily Telegraph Survey Results. Retrieved 2006-01-11.
- ^ TNS Sofres. (May 2005). European Values. Retrieved January 11, 2007.
- ^ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and ORC Macro. (2003). Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health in Eastern Europe and Eurasia: A Comparative Report. Retrieved February 12, 2007.
- ^ "Mexicans Support Status Quo on Social Issues." (December 1, 2005). Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved January 10, 2006.
- ^ "Nicaraguans Favour Abortion in Some Cases." (December 4, 2006). Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved January 10, 2006.
- ^ "Panamanians Reject Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage." (May 23, 2005). Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved January 10, 2006.
- ^ The Polling Report. (2006). Retrieved 2006-01-11.
- ^ Grattan, Michelle. (2005-02-16). "Poll backs abortion laws." The Age. Retrieved 2006-01-11.
- ^ "Argentines Assess Abortion Changes." (Mar. 4, 2004). Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved January 10, 2006.
- ^ "Brazilians Satisfied with Abortion Law." (August 20, 2006). Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved January 10, 2006.
- ^ "Chileans Slowly Becoming More Liberal. (October 2, 2006). Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved January 10, 2006.
- ^ "Colombians Reject Legalizing Abortion. (August 2, 2005). Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved January 10, 2006.
- ^ The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. (October 5, 2006). Spirit and Power: A 10-Country Survey of Pentecostals. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
