Majority of women support 24 week time limit

Posted on May 19, 2008
Filed Under Abortion Contraception, Consultation, England, Wales | Comments Off

New survey of British women’s attitudes to abortion published today

Sixty one per cent of British women of child bearing age say there are circumstances in which they think a woman should have the right to access an abortion between 20 and 24 weeks.

When presented with a list of potential circumstances (see below), six out of ten (61%) British women aged 18-49 say there are certain situations in which they think a woman should have the right to access an abortion between 20 and 24 weeks, according to findings from an independent survey carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of Marie Stopes International.

The potential circumstances listed were:

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 an opposition total of 22%.

The survey of 1,032 British women is released to coincide with today’s vote on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill in the House of Commons, which includes a number of amendments seeking to reduce the limit for abortions from 24 weeks to as low as 12 weeks.

Marie Stopes International strongly urges MPs to give their full support to British women and vote to retain the 24 week limit for abortion when they cast their free vote on the amendments later today.

“The danger is that some MPs may abstain, rather than engage in this difficult and emotive issue,” said Anne Quesney, Head of Advocacy at Marie Stopes International, the UK’s largest independent provider of abortion services.

“But an abstention is tantamount to a vote for a reduction, which will deny some of the most vulnerable women access to a desperately needed service.

“Later abortions are extremely rare, less than two per cent of the total. As a society we should be supporting women through this difficult time, rather than forcing them into motherhood against their will, making them seek out illegal or unsafe practices or travel abroad to access later abortion services.

“The entire medical establishment and all recent scientific and medical research have endorsed the call to retain the 24 week limit on abortion. Now we have a similar clear endorsement from those who will be most adversely affected by any reduction in the limit – women themselves.”

Technical details

Full results for this question will be available from the Ipsos MORI website – http://www.ipsos-mori.com/

Question 7 was: 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.

http://www.mariestopes.org

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