breaking the silence: findings from a national abortion public opinion survey in mexico sandra...
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Breaking the silence: Findings from a national abortion public opinion survey
in Mexico
Sandra Garcia ScM ScD, Karin Lockwood BA, and
Davida Becker ScM
Population Council, Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean
Rationale for our study
• Public knowledge and opinion on abortion law influence access and usage of abortion services
• Public opinions play a role in abortion policy reform
• Few prior studies with nationally representative data
Facts on Induced Abortion
• Estimates of the incidence of induced abortion range from 110,000-850,000 per year1
• Majority of abortions are performed in clandestine circumstances
1. Cifras del aborto en México: http:www.gire.org.mx
Unsafe induced abortions are an important cause of mortality and morbidity
• Unsafe abortions are the fourth leading cause of maternal mortality in Mexico1
• Each year over 5 women for every 1000 women aged 15 to 44 are hospitalized to receive treatment for complications of unsafe abortion2
1. CONAPO. Sept 2000. Cuadernos de salud reproductiva. Republica Mexicana. 2. Henshaw SK, Singh S, Haas T. 1999. The incidence of abortion worldwide. International Family
Planning Perspectives, 25 (Suppl):S30-S38.
Why are so many abortions in Mexico unsafe?
1. Abortions are illegal in most circumstances
2. Other barriers to safe abortion– Lack of information– Attitudes – Bureaucratic and medical barriers – Politics
Mexico’s abortion lawsCircumstance % of Mexican states
where abortion is legal (N=32)
When a pregnancy occurs because of a rape 100
When an abortion is provoked by accident 91
When the mother’s life is at risk 88
When a fetus has mental or physical defects 41
When the health of the mother is in danger 31
When a woman is artificially inseminated against her will
25
When a pregnancy causes economic distress 3Source: “Situación legal del aborto en México” www.gire.org.mx
Study Objectives
• Measure general knowledge about abortion law
• Measure opinions toward abortion law and related issues
Methodology
• Field work: September – October, 2000
• 98% response rate
• 3000 interviews: women and men, age 15 to 65
• Random, probability sample; stratified by age, sex, socioeconomic level, and urban/rural residence
• Margin of error +/- 1.82% with 95% confidence
43%
57%
30%26%
20%12% 11% 10%
19%
28%33%
11%
75%
25%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Men
Wom
en
15-2
4
25-3
4
35-4
4
45-5
4
55-6
5
A/B C+ C D E
Urb
an
Ru
ral
Ages Socioeconomic level
Sociodemographic characteristics
Other characteristics of study population
• Religion: –86% practiced religion (90% were Catholics)
• Political Party Affiliation:–38% identified with PAN, a conservative party –25% identified with PRI, a moderate party –9% identified with PRD, a liberal party –22% had no political party identification
Percent of population by geographic region
North Central Gulf18%
Mexico City19%
Southeast20%
Bajío17%
Central18%
Pacific North9%
Knowledge about abortion laws
8%
44%45%
3%15%
50%32%
6%
42%49%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Legal under anycircumstance
Legal under certaincircumstances
Ilegal under anycircumstance
Don't know
NationalRuralUrban
Personal opinion regarding the legal status of abortion
6%
21%
69%
10%
61%
31%
17%
71%
12%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Legal under anycircumstance
Legal under certaincircumstance
Ilegal under anycircumstance
NationalRuralUrban
♀ 8%
♂ 13%
♀ 68%
♂ 69%
♀ 23%
♂ 18%
Opinion on abortion in specific circumstances
Circumstance % of total population that supports abortion
When the life of the mother is at risk 80
When the health of the the mother is in danger 75
When the pregnancy is a result of a rape 64
When the fetus has birth defects (physical or mental) 52
When a mother cannot support a child for economic reasons 17
When the mother is single 11
When the mother is a minor 20
When a contraceptive method failed 11
Whenever a woman decides 20
Public opinion and abortion law
Circumstance % of total population supportive of
abortion
% of Mexican states allowing
abortion
(N=32)
When a mother’s health is in serious danger
75 31
When a fetus has physical or mental defects
52 41
When a woman’s life is at risk 80 88When a pregnancy occurs because of a rape
64 100
When making abortion laws, which group should legislators listen to most?
7%14%
29%
48%
9%
43%
18%27%
1%6%13%
30%
50%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Women Society Doctors Church Everyone
NationalRuralUrban
Should the public be consulted or not before voting on abortion laws?
4% 1%7%
2%4% 0%
95% 91% 96%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Yes No Don't know
National
Rural
Urban
Do you think it is good or bad for legislators to vote on abortion laws based on their
religious beliefs?
17%
80% 80%
13%
85%
17%
76%
20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Good Bad
NationalCatholicOther ReligionNot religious
Opinions on abortion policies
Initiative % of rural population in
agreement
% of urban population in
agreement
Every public hospital should have the capacity to provide legal abortion services
73 82
As part of routine medical education, all medical schools should train their students how to perform abortions
61 68
Opinions on other government initiativesInitiative % of rural
population in agreement
% of urban population in
agreement
To reduce unwanted pregnancy, the goverment should support sex education in public schools
86 94
To reduce unwanted pregnancy, the goverment should support public education campaigns on sexuality
87 94
To reduce unwanted pregnancy, the government should improve family planning services
95 98
Summary of key findings
• Accurate knowledge on abortion law is low
• The majority of Mexicans think that abortion should be legal in some circumstances, particularly in circumstances when the life or health of the mother is at risk, and in cases of rape
General trends
• Men had more liberal attitudes towards abortion than women in most circumstances
• Strong regional and residential differences in opinion
• Religion and political party affiliation did not seem to affect opinions
General trends cont.
• Regardless of their personal views1. People want to be consulted
2. People think the church should have (at most) a minor role in forming law
3. People want their government health facilities to have capacity to offer abortion
Next steps
• Disseminate results to different audiences: academics, legislators, physicians, lawyers, women’s groups, etc.
• Additional analyses using these data
• Assess changes over time – repeat this survey in two years
AcknowledgementsThis study was made possible by the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation.
We would like to thank Grupo Investigación de Mercado y Asesoría (IDM), Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida (GIRE), Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir, Ipas, Equidad de Género, Cuidadania, Trabajo, y Familia, A.C., and the Colegio de Mexico for their help with this study.
Special thanks to Georgina Corona, María Fernanda Díaz de León, Charlotte Ellertson, Angela Heimberger, Stanley Henshaw, Guillermina Herrera, Ana Langer, Maricarmen Meza, Raffaela Schiavon, Jennifer Strickler, and David Trejo.