“I don't believe in abortion, but”...Examining the complexity in people's opinions regarding access to safe legal abortion

Background: Abortion remains a salient, but contentious, public health issue in the US. State governments continue to pass legislation restricting access to safe, legal abortion suggesting that public opinion supports more restrictive policies. Research examining abortion attitudes typically utilizes dichotomous, Prochoice versus Prolife, outcomes. Research assessing the extent to which people’s opinions regarding abortion are more complex, (i.e., people’s opinions deviate from strictly prochoice/prolife stances, with more nuanced attitudes towards access to abortion) is lacking. The current study explores the complexity in people’s opinions about access to safe, legal abortion.

Methods: Survey data were collected from 506 adults residing in politically conservative states. In addition to demographic questions, participants were asked a series of close-ended and open-ended questions regarding self-identification (Prochoice/Prolife) and opinions regarding access to safe, legal abortions. Data were analyzed using an inductive coding approach and coded by five individuals (interrater reliability = .89).

Results: Despite 54.2% of the sample identifying as prolife, 68% of respondents indicated women should have access to safe, legal abortion. Open-ended responses suggest that individuals who identify as prolife demonstrate the most complexity regarding abortion opinions.  

Conclusion: These findings suggest that although most recent legislation regarding access to safe, legal abortion focuses on restriction and/or elimination, the majority of individuals remain somewhat in favor of access to safe, legal abortions. It appears that legislation and public opinion are disjointed. Dichotomous labels such as “prolife” and “prochoice” are potentially contributing to dissonance between politicians, legislation, and public opinion impacting reproductive health.