2008 Survey
Our survey was conducted on-line by ComRes, savanta.com, an independent market research company. It was carried out between 19/11/07 and 14/1/08 and completed by 209 women between the ages of 20 and 40 who had previously had a social abortion in England and Wales. The women were asked what made them choose abortion and about their feelings around the whole experience.
📊 Results
📈 Key Points
Decision Making
- Abortion is a time of great turmoil
- 1 in 8 women weren't at all sure about their decision
- 50% felt they simply had no choice
Key Pressures
- ~50% each for relationship, money, and others' reactions
- 35% affected by parents' reaction
- 40% concerned about jobs or education
Immediate Aftermath
- 50% felt relief in the month after
- 50% felt regret in the month after
Long-term Reflection
- 70% feel they made the right decision
- 40% wish their decision could have been different
- 1 in 7 feel the abortion was the wrong decision
As you might expect, many women told us that having a baby would have been a life-changing event for them - with about three quarters in that situation. Similar numbers were in turmoil on finding themselves pregnant.
Most - eight out of ten - felt that they were making the right decision at the time - though a minority (one in eight) weren't at all sure.
As regards what was driving the turmoil, two thirds said they simply didn't want to be pregnant. However, it was clear that this was far from being the full story with most women experiencing major pressures from elsewhere.
Three factors stood out
- the relationship with the baby's father
- money concerns
- how other people reacted to the pregnancy
Each of these factors was judged as very important by around half of women.
In terms of other people's reactions, 32% felt major pressure from the father but the reaction from the woman's own parents was at least as likely to be problematic with 35% affected.
Otherwise, four in ten women felt issues around jobs or education were very important.
On average, women had two of these external factors pushing them towards abortion, one they thought of as very important and another they saw as fairly important.
Ultimately around half of women told us that all this added up to them feeling they had no choice but to have an abortion.
As regards how things went after the abortion, there was a mixture of emotions and it is clear that different women are affected differently. Around 50% of women felt a sense of relief in the month after the abortion but on the other hand 50% felt regret.
Now after the passing of time, a majority – seven in ten – can look back and feel they made the right decision. However, it's clearly a hard call with four in ten wishing their decision could be different and a similar number still thinking about the abortion these days. Around one in seven now feel that the abortion was the wrong decision.
Detailed Survey Results
Survey Results
Analysis
Key Points
- Pregnant women's right to choose is often between a rock and a hard place.
- Being pregnant and having a baby is very tough for many women.
- Abortion can be a painful process.
- Women are being pushed towards abortion by issues beyond their control.
It must be time to get a better deal for women, to give them a Real Choice.
Who would want to argue with a woman's right to choose? It really is a top slogan – choice seems like such a good thing, how could anyone deny women choice in anything? But is choice always a solution? How about a rock and a hard place?
Surely this survey proves that's exactly what it's like for many pregnant women. On the one hand - if we ever doubted it - it shows that being pregnant can be very tough as women face a range of problems – money, jobs, education not to mention the way other people treat them. No wonder they feel they have no choice. And on the other hand, abortion can be a painful process often leaving women with regret and doubt. No wonder so many describe mental turmoil as they make their decision.
Surely if we believe in the right to choose, we have to go beyond the catchphrase and actually give women a real choice. Because many of these problems don't have to be so, there's so much more we could do for pregnant women and the parents of young children so that pregnant women have better options.
As a pro-choicer you might say this is typical anti-abortion obstruction tactics. Women who have an abortion simply don't want to be pregnant. By working on all these issues, we're just making it more difficult for her to make the choice she really wants to make – to end the pregnancy. It's true, if you ask women, many will say that they simply didn't want to be pregnant. But our results show this is far from clearcut with so many in turmoil and so many women raising issues about money and jobs. And what about the end result, so many women feeling regret afterwards and wishing things could have been different.
We believe this study provides a mandate for getting a better deal for pregnant women and the parents of young children – to give them a real choice.