Societal attitudes towards abortion
Societal attitudes towards abortion have varied throughout different historical 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.
Attitudes by region
Africa
- South Africa: A 2003 Human Sciences Research Council study examined moral attitudes among South Africans: 56% said they believed that abortion is wrong even if there is a strong chance of serious defect in the fetus, while 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.
Europe
- Austria: A May 2007 OGM survey examined Austrian opinion on the morality of abortion, asking, "Personally, do you think of abortion as a moral issue?" 20% of those polled replied, "yes, always", 59% replied "yes, under certain circumstances", 19% replied "no, never", and 2% replied that they were "not sure".
- Czech Republic: A May 2007 CVVM poll found that 72% believe abortion in the Czech Republic should be allowed "at the request of the woman", 19% that it should be allowed for "societal reasons", 5% that it should be allowed only if "a woman’s health is at risk", 1% that it should be "banned".
- Republic of Ireland: A January 2010 Irish Examiner/RedC poll about abortion in Ireland found that 60% of 18- to 35-year-olds felt abortion should be legalised, and 10% had been in a relationship in which an abortion had taken place. A January 2010 opinion poll conducted by Millward Brown Landsdowne for the Pro Life Campaign found 70% of people questioned favored constitutional protection for the unborn under circumstances where intervention to save the mother's life was legal. A January 2013 Paddy Power/Red C poll of 1,002 adults found that 29% of voters believed that there should be a constitutional amendment to allow abortion "in any case where the woman requests it". Support was highest at 37% within the 18- to 35-year-old age group.
- Great Britain: A January 2010 Angus Reid Public Opinion poll asked "Do you think abortion should be legal under any circumstances, legal only under certain circumstances, or illegal in all circumstances?" 36% responded that they believe abortion should be legal in all circumstances, 55% that it should be legal in certain circumstances, and 3% that it should be illegal in all circumstances.
2005 poll of ten countries
Results were as follows:
| Country | "Very much" | "A little" | "Not really" | "Not at all" |
| Czech Republic | 66% | 15% | 8% | 10% |
| Finland | 54% | 20% | 9% | 13% |
| France | 55% | 23% | 8% | 13% |
| Germany | 40% | 24% | 10% | 24% |
| Italy | 29% | 24% | 16% | 25% |
| Netherlands | 37% | 22% | 11% | 26% |
| Poland | 23% | 24% | 19% | 29% |
| Portugal | 32% | 20% | 12% | 30% |
| Spain | 41% | 18% | 8% | 27% |
| United Kingdom | 43% | 23% | 10% | 19% |
Eastern Europe/Eurasia study
An April 2003 CDC/ORC Macro report examined sentiment on abortion among women aged 15 to 44 in six former-Comecon countries, asking, "Do you think that a woman always has the right to decide about her pregnancy, including whether to have an abortion?"The results were:
| Country | Azerbaijan | Czech Republic | Georgia | Moldova | Romania | Russia |
| Yes | 80% | 85% | 79% | 81% | 78% | 72% |
| No | 20% | 15% | 21% | 19% | 22% | 28% |
Among those whose response was "no" above, it was then asked if abortion would be acceptable under selected circumstances. Positive responses to this subsequent question were:
| Country | Azerbaijan | Czech Republic | Georgia | Moldova | Romania | Russia |
| If the pregnancy endangers woman's life | 83% | 91% | 80% | 71% | 69% | N/A |
| If the child might be born deformed | 80% | 74% | 80% | 88% | 70% | N/A |
| If pregnancy endangers woman's health | 70% | 72% | 70% | 38% | 52% | N/A |
| If pregnancy resulted from rape | 67% | 71% | 40% | 43% | 42% | N/A |
| If family cannot afford to support the child | 65% | 16% | 23% | 32% | 29% | N/A |
| If the woman is not married | 66% | 8% | 22% | 16% | 23% | N/A |
North & Central America
- Canada: A December 2001 Gallup poll about abortion in Canada, 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.
- Mexico: A November 2005 IMO poll about abortion in Mexico found that 73.4% think abortion should not be legalized while 11.2% think it should.
- 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".
- Panama: A May 2005 Dichter & Neira/La Prensa poll found that 89.4% disagreed with abortion and 8.3% agreed.
- Canada: A January 2010 Angus Reid Public Opinion poll found that 40% of Canadians think abortion should be permitted in all cases, while 31% support it with some restrictions; 41% say the health care system should pay for abortions only in emergency cases; 53% say under-aged girls should need parental consent for abortions.
- United States: A January 2010 Angus Reid Public Opinion poll found that 30% of Americans think abortion should be permitted only in cases of rape, incest, or to save the woman’s life; 44% agree with banning abortion coverage through insurance companies subsidized by the government,while 42% disagree; 31% claim pregnant women don’t have enough information about alternatives to abortion.
- United States: A February 2007 CBS News poll about abortion in the U.S. asked, "What is your personal feeling about abortion?", and 30% said that it should be "permitted only in cases such as rape, incest or to save the woman's life", 31% said that abortion should be "permitted in all cases", 16% that it should be "permitted, but subject to greater restrictions than it is now", 12% said that it should "only be permitted to save the woman's life", and 5% said that it should "never" be permitted. The Gallup poll has obtained the following results:
2003 Poll 2000 Poll 1996 Poll - - - Legal Illegal Legal Illegal Legal Illegal First trimester 66% 29% 66% 31% 64% 30% Second trimester 25% 68% 24% 69% 26% 65% Third trimester 10% 84% 8% 86% 13% 82%
Oceania
- Australia: Since at least the 1980s, public opinion polls have shown a majority of Australians support abortion rights, and that support for abortion is increasing. In 2003, a poll by the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes found that 81% of Australians believe a women should have the right to choose an abortion, and a 2007 poll by the same group found 4% of Australians are opposed to abortion in all circumstances.
South America
- Argentina: A September 2011 survey conducted by the nonprofit organization Catholics for Choice found that 45% of Argentines are in favor of abortion for any reason in the first twelve weeks. This same poll conducted in September 2011 also suggests that most Argentines favor abortion being legal when a woman’s health or life is at risk, when the pregnancy is a result of rape or the fetus has severe abnormalities.
- Brazil: A March 2007 Datafolha/Folha de Sao Paulo poll found that 65% believe that their country's current law — which allows abortion in cases of rape or endangerment to life — "should not be modified", 16% that it should be expanded "to allow abortion in other cases", 10% that abortion should be "decriminalized", and 5% were "not sure".
- Chile: A 2014 poll found that 70% of Chileans supported abortion if a mother’s life is in danger, if a foetus is unviable or when a pregnancy is a result of rape. According to a Pew Research Center poll in 2014, in Chile, public opinion is divided on the issue; 47% say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 49% say it should be illegal in all or most circumstances.
- Colombia: A September 2017 survey, conducted by the nonprofit Table for Life and Women's Health, found that 65% of Colombians believe that abortion should be legal for certain circumstances.
- Uruguay: A May 2007 Factum/El Espectador survey asked Uruguayans about a law under debate in their country's Senate, which would legalize abortion within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, finding that 61% support the law, 27% oppose the law, and 12% are unsure about it.
Attitudes by religion
Christianity
An October 2006 Pew Research Center survey of moral opinion among Christians in 10 countries asked "... you think abortion can always be justified, sometimes be justified, or never be justified?"| Country | "Always justified" | "Sometimes justified" | "Never justified" |
| Brazil | 4% | 16% | 79% |
| Chile | 4% | 23% | 71% |
| Guatemala | 3% | 10% | 85% |
| India | 9% | 19% | 68% |
| Kenya | n/a | 11% | 88% |
| Nigeria | 1% | 4% | 94% |
| Philippines | 0% | 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" | "Completely disagree" |
| Brazil | 35% | 13% | 15% | 34% |
| Chile | 22% | 24% | 23% | 25% |
| Guatemala | 31% | 27% | 11% | 28% |
| India | 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% |