Britons Divided On Whether Abortion Debate Should Be Re-Opened
Almost half of respondents think the current 24-week window in which abortions can be performed should be shortened.
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(07/14/10) -
Almost half of respondents think the current 24-week window in which abortions can be performed should be shortened.
A significant proportion of people in Great Britain think it is time to re-open the debate on abortion, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample of 2,000 British adults, 40 per cent of respondents say a national debate on abortion is long overdue and the discussion should be re-opened. However, 45 per cent of Britons disagree.
Legality and Funding
Two-in-five Britons (40%) think abortion should be legal in all cases. But half of respondents (50%) disagree, saying that abortions should only be performed under certain circumstances.
A third of respondents (34%) say the NHS should always fund abortions, but most people (51%) think state funding for abortions should be limited to medical emergencies. Seven per cent of Britons say the NHS should never provide funding for an abortion.
There is no difference in how women and men approach this particular question.
24-Week Time Limit
Almost half of Britons (46%) think the 24-week window currently allowed for terminating pregnancies should be lowered. Respondents are also divided on this issue, with more than a third (37%) believing that the current window should stay as is.
Women (58%) are much more likely than men (33%) to call for a reduction of the 24-week period. Respondents over the age of 55 (50%) are also more inclined than others to call for a shorter window.
Information and Consent
Almost half of respondents (48%) think it would be a good idea to require parental consent from women under the age of 18 in order to perform an abortion. Over a third of respondents (37%) disagree.
Women (50%) are only slightly more inclined than men (46%) to support mandatory parental consent. Younger Britons—aged 18 to 34—are less supportive of this measure than their older counterparts (42% against more than 50% in the remaining brackets).
Two-in-five respondents (41%) think pregnant women have access to enough information about alternatives to abortion, such as counselling and adoption. A large proportion of Britons (32%) think this is not the case and that pregnant women lack enough information right now.
Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
Download Methodology Statement
CONTACT:
Andy Morris, Research Director, London
+ 44-207-065-7272
andy.morris@angus-reid.com
Methodology: From July 7 to July 9, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 2,000 randomly selected British adults who are Springboard UK panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region data to
ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
