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.

Thank you!