Attitudes Towards Abortion Survey
Conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Marie Stopes International.
In total, 19% of all respondents disagree that, in general, all women should have the right of access to an abortion, 57% agree and 24% are neutral, do not know or prefer not to answer.
When presented with a list of potential circumstances (see question below), six out of ten (61%) British women aged 18-49 say there are certain circumstances in which they think a woman should have the right to access an abortion between 20 and 24 weeks.
Three percent say that a woman should not be able to access an abortion between 20 and 24 weeks, regardless of her circumstances, and a further 19% were not asked this question as they disagree with abortion in general, giving a total of 22%.
Four percent of respondents both support a woman's right of access to an abortion yet also feel there are no grounds for abortion between 20 and 24 weeks.
Technical details
- The Ipsos Social Research Institute carried out face-to-face interviews with a representative quota sample of 1,032 women aged 18-49 across Great Britain between 2 and 15 May 2008.
- The questions were 'self-completed' by respondents.
- All data have been weighted to the known profile of the GB population.
Note: the remaining questions will be published at a later date.
Q In general, to what extent do you agree or disagree that all women should have the right of access to an abortion? Please select one option only.
| 160 | % |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 37 |
| Tend to agree | 20 |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 12 |
| Tend to disagree | 7 |
| Strongly disagree | 12 |
| Don't know | 3 |
| I would prefer not to answer | 9 |
Q Abortion is currently legal within 24 weeks. That is, a woman is allowed to have an abortion at any time within the first 24 weeks of her pregnancy, when two doctors have agreed that the abortion is in the interests of her physical or mental health. A very small proportion of abortions (fewer than 2 in one hundred) take place between 20 and 24 weeks. There is currently a debate about the legal time limit. In which, if any, of the following circumstances do you think a woman should have the right to access an abortion between 20 and 24 weeks? You may select more than one option.
| 160 | % |
|---|---|
| The foetus is diagnosed with severe abnormalities | 40 |
| She was raped | 38 |
| The pregnancy places her own health at risk | 37 |
| She has an abusive partner | 16 |
| She was delayed by her doctor | 15 |
| She did not realise earlier that she was pregnant | 13 |
| She is young and has been in denial of pregnancy signs | 6 |
| Her partner left her during the pregnancy | 6 |
| Any of the above circumstances | 57 |
| Other | 1 |
| Any of the above circumstances (including other) | 57 |
| She should be able to access an abortion between 20 and 24 weeks, regardless of her circumstances | 4 |
| Any of the above circumstances (including other) or she should be able to access an abortion between 20 and 24 weeks, regardless of her circumstances | 61 |
| She should not be able to access an abortion between 20 and 24 weeks, regardless of her circumstances | 3 |
| Don't know | 5 |
| I would prefer not to answer | 4 |
| Not asked this question* | 8 |
| Not asked this question** | 19 |
| She should not be able to access an abortion between 20 and 24 weeks, regardless of her circumstances or not asked this question as disagreed with abortion at Q1 | 22 |
* screened out as stated 'prefer not to answer' at all of the first three questions
** screened out as stated strongly disagree or tend to disagree with abortion in general
