Faith and Abortion Stigma: Findings from the Abortion Stigma Scale

Introduction: Abortion is a stigmatized social experience, but little is known about how stigma varies by socio-demographic factors.

Methods: We developed and validated a 20-item abortion stigma scale measuring four manifestations of stigma: worries about judgment, social support, self-judgment, and community condemnation. We implemented the scale with a self-administered iPad survey at 13 Planned Parenthood clinics across the US. Six-hundred and fifty-two women participated in our study. We used multivariable linear regression analysis to examine associations between multiple socio-demographic factors and abortion stigma.

Results: Most women scored low on the overall stigma scale. Yet the majority of women reported medium high to high levels of self-judgment related to their abortions. We found significant variation in scale and sub-scale scores by race, religion, religiosity age, education and number of births. Women's religious tradition (Protestant and Catholic) and the strength of their spiritual faith were factors that appeared to increase stigma in the full scale and sub-scales. We also found that Black and Asian women showed lower levels of concern about social judgment than white women.

Conclusion: Socio-demographic factors appear to play an important role in the social and emotional experience of having an abortion. Women of all faiths have abortions, yet stigma is highly concentrated among Catholic and Protestant Christians and those with strong religious beliefs. Certain social groups may be more resilient to the negative effects of stigma than others. Efforts to destigmatize abortion should reflect the multiple manifestations of stigma and differences across populations.