Title: Trends in attitudes toward abortion: 1972-1976.

POPLINE Document Number: 797335

Author(s):

Tedrow LM
Mahoney ER

Source citation:

PUBLIC OPINION QUARTERLY, 1979 Summer;43(2):181-89.

Abstract:

Analysis of data from the National Opinion Research Center's General Social Survey conducted annually from 1972-76 revealed trends in attitudes toward abortion. The following 6 questions were asked. Should a person obtain an abortion if: 1) there is chance of defect in the baby; 2) a woman doesn't want any more and is married; 3) if the woman's health is jeopardized; 4) if the family has a low income and cannot afford any more children; 5) if she becomes pregnant because of rape; or 6) if she is not married and does not want to marry the father. The overall trend showed an increase in approval for each of the 6 reasons for an abortion. There was an increase by 3 percentage points for each of the traditionally hard line reasons: health, rape, and defect; and an increase of 3, 6, and 6 percentage points respectively for the soft line reasons: poor, single, and no more. In 1972 males were more approving of abortion than females; 1976 saw an increase in approval for men. There was more disparity between the sexes in 1976 than in 1975. Protestants were consistently more liberal than Catholics. Protestant increases in approval exceeded Catholic increases for rape and defect for males, and health for females. The only decrease in approval of abortion for 1972-76 was for male Catholics for rape, -3 percentage points.

Keywords:

Statistical Studies
Abortion
Attitude
Men
Women
Religion
Education
Socioeconomic Status
Statistics
Ethnic Groups
Studies
Research Methodology
Fertility Control, Postconception
Family Planning
Psychological Factors
Behavior
Demographic Factors
Population
Socioeconomic Factors
Economic Factors
Cultural Background
Population Characteristics