Poll shows majority support for legal abortion

New research into public attitudes to abortion shows that 63% of adults in the UK agreed that ‘if a woman wants an abortion, she should not have to continue with her pregnancy’, while 18% disagreed.

Fifty-nine per cent of those polled by Ipsos MORI agreed that ‘abortion should be made legally available for all who want it’. This would require a change to the existing law, which requires two doctors to confirm that a woman meets certain criteria. Twenty-seven per cent disagreed.

The 24-week time legal time limit for abortion was explored in the poll using a split-sample. Half the sample was given more information about abortion than the other half.  Over half (54%) of this group agreed that ‘abortion should be allowed to take place up to 24 weeks, when two doctors agree it is best for the woman’s physical or mental health’. Twenty-eight per cent disagreed, 13% neither agreed nor disagreed and 6% did not know.  On the other side of the sample (those who were just told that abortion is legal up to 24 weeks) 46% agreed, 38% disagreed, 11% were neutral and 6% don’t know.

Ann Furedi, Chief Executive of bpas, Britain’s main provider of abortion services, said:

‘As at least one in three women in the UK can expect to have an abortion, it is not surprising that support for legal abortion remains quite strong – despite shrill campaigns by individuals who would like to see tighter laws. Abortion is a necessary back up to birth control for couples who want to plan their families. No woman ever wants to need to have an abortion, but those who do not want it to be legal are in a minority.

‘We’re pleased to see most people support the existing legal time limit for therapeutic abortion of 24 weeks, when given information about the circumstances, because late abortion is a particularly emotional issue. Fifty-four per cent of the public agreed that “abortion should be allowed to take place up to 24 weeks, when two doctors agree it is best for the woman’s physical or mental health”, with just 28% disagreeing.

‘Public opinion seems to be more progressive than politicians think. Britain is one of the few countries in Europe and North America that does not allow abortion on the woman’s request at any stage. Abortion is our most tightly-regulated medical procedure, despite being shown to be a safe solution to a problem pregnancy. The abortion law in Britain is almost 40 years old – it’s time that it was reviewed.’

Read on:

Attitudes to Abortion: summary of findings, Abortion Review, 28 November 2006

‘Two doctor’ rule hits the headlines, Abortion Review, 1 December 2006