Post-Abortion Awareness Survey
Below are the results of a 2008 nationwide opinion poll using a random sample of residential phone numbers. The poll was conducted using an automated phone script, which is reproduced in full, below. The 95% confidence limits for this poll are +/- 4%.
Script & Results
Hello, we are taking a nationwide opinion poll regarding abortion and politics. This poll has been commissioned by the Elliot Institute. We would appreciate your participation.
If you are over 18 years of age, please press 1 to continue — or please give the phone to an adult in your home and ask them to press 2 to repeat this introduction. At any time you may press the pound or star key to repeat the question.
First, In terms of the way it impacts your vote for elected officials, how important is a candidate’s position on abortion? If very important, press 1. If somewhat important, press 2. If not very important, press 3. If NOT AT ALL important, press 4. If you are not sure, press 5. Press the star key to repeat the question.
| Candidate’s Position | Percent |
| 1 very important | 60.2% |
| 2 somewhat important | 22.9% |
| 3 not very important | 10.5% |
| 4 not at all important | 4.3% |
| 5 not sure | 2.1% |
| Total n=621 | 100.0% |
Question two: When a woman has an abortion, do you think it generally makes her life better, worse, or does it have little impact? If better, press 1. If worse, press 2. If little impact, press 3. If you are not sure, press 4. Press the star key to repeat the question.
| Impact on Life | Percent |
| 1 better | 15.4% |
| 2 worse | 54.5% |
| 3 little impact | 12.3% |
| 4 not sure | 17.8% |
| Total n=618 | 100.0% |
Only 15% believe that abortion makes women’s live better compared to 54% who believe it makes their lives worse. The remainder are unsure or believe the impact to be minor.
When these results are broken down by how people identify themselves on a scale from pro-life to pro-choice, more interesting results are revealed. As shown in the graph below, pro-lifers are most likely to expect negative emotional reactions. Among the politically more neutral population, approximately 45% believe it makes women’s lives worse and only 6% believe it makes women’s lives better. While people who identify as strongly pro-choice generally expect better results, about 14% still believe it makes women’s lives worse.
How many women have emotional problems following an abortion? Please answer this question using a scale from 1 to 9 where a 1 means that NO women suffer emotional problems following an abortion and 9 means that ALL women suffer emotional problems following an abortion. Please touch the appropriate number on your telephone keypad. Remember this is a scale where 1 means that NO women suffer emotional problems following an abortion and a 9 means that ALL women suffer emotional problems following an abortion.
| How Common Are Emotional Problems? | Percent |
| a. 1-3 Few | |
| b. 4-6 Some | 27.6% |
| c. 7-9 Many | 57.6% |
| Total n=623 | 100.0% |
The figure below shows that pro-life and middle oriented persons were significantly more likely to believe reactions are common than pro-choice persons.
Moreover, as shown in Figure 2, below, pro-choice women were much far more likely to believe negative reactions are common compared to pro-choice men. Approximately 70% of pro-choice women believe that negative emotional problems occur among some to most women.
Okay… When women do experience emotional problems after an abortion, how severe are they for most women? Please use a scale from 1 to 9 where a 1 means that the emotional problems are very minor and a 9 means that they are very severe.
| How Severe? | Percent |
| 1-3 Minor | 16.2% |
| 4-6 Moderate | 41.0% |
| 7-9 Severe | 42.8% |
| Total n=598 | 100.0% |
Over 83% believe that negative emotional reactions to abortion are generally moderate to severe. Only 16% would rate them as minor.
Women and men perceive the risks differently. As seen in the figure below, women were more likely than men to believe that negative reactions to abortion are more severe.
Opinions regarding the severity of post-abortion emotional reactions also varied by political views. Only 35% of those who are pro-choice believe the reactions are generally minor.
Regarding the political issue of abortion, on a scale of 1 to 9 where 1 is very pro-life and 9 is very pro-choice, how would you rate your personal view on abortion.
[pause two seconds] Please touch the appropriate number on your telephone keypad. Remember, a 1 means very pro-life and 9 is very pro-choice. 5 is neutral.
| Personal View | Frequency | Percent | Cum Percent |
| 1 (pro-life) | 242 | 39.0% | 39.0% |
| 2 (pro-life) | 30 | 4.8% | 43.9% |
| 3 (middle) | 24 | 3.9% | 47.7% |
| 4 (middle) | 12 | 1.9% | 49.7% |
| 5 (middle) | 64 | 10.3% | 60.0% |
| 6 (middle) | 11 | 1.8% | 61.8% |
| 7 (middle) | 23 | 3.7% | 65.5% |
| 8 (pro-choice) | 26 | 4.2% | 69.7% |
| 9 (pro-choice) | 188 | 30.3% | 100.0% |
| Total | 620 | 100.0% | 100.0% |
For analyses sorted by political view on abortion this question was used to segregate respondents by group using 1-2 for “pro-life”, 3-7 for “middle” and 8-9 for “pro-choice.”
We’re not going to use the 1 to 9 scale any more… Recent studies have shown that after an abortion some types of women are significantly more likely to experience negative emotional problems, such as grief, depression, substance abuse, or suicidal tendencies. These negative reactions appear to impact millions of women. Knowing this, Should more research on women’s emotional reactions to abortion be a (1) a high priority, (2) a medium priority (3) a low priority, or (4) should no more research be done. If a high priority, press 1. If a medium priority, press 2. If a low priority, press 3. If no more research should be done, press 4. If you are not sure, press 5
| GENDER | |||
| More Research | female | male | TOTAL |
| 1 high priority Row % Col % | 173 67.3 43.0 | 84 32.7 38.2 | 257 100.0 41.3 |
| 2 medium priority Row % Col % | 113 61.1 28.1 | 72 38.9 32.7 | 185 100.0 29.7 |
| 3 low priority Row % Col % | 69 67.0 17.2 | 34 33.0 15.5 | 103 100.0 16.6 |
| 4 no more Row % Col % | 37 55.2 9.2 | 30 44.8 13.6 | 67 100.0 10.8 |
| 5 not sure Row % Col % | 10 100.0 2.5 | 0 0.0 0.0 | 10 100.0 1.6 |
| TOTAL Row % Col % | 402 64.6 100.0 | 220 35.4 100.0 | 622 100.0 100.0 |
Fully 70% believe that post-abortion research should be of medium to high priority. On further analysis, women were significantly more likely (p<.05) than men to give a higher priority to post-abortion research.
Some women have said that they felt pressured or coerced by their parents or male partners to undergo “unwanted abortions”? Do you believe this problem of “unwanted abortions” happens rarely, occasionally, is somewhat common, or is very common? If rarely, press 1. If occasionally, press 2. If somewhat common, press 3. If very common, press 4.
| Unwanted Abortions | Frequency | Percent | Cum Percent |
| 1 rarely | 86 | 13.9% | 13.9% |
| 2 occasionally | 197 | 31.8% | 45.7% |
| 3 somewhat common | 211 | 34.1% | 79.8% |
| 4 very common | 125 | 20.2% | 100.0% |
| Total | 619 | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Women who feel pressured to have unwanted abortions are at much higher risk of experiencing more severe grief, guilt, depression and other psychological problems following an abortion. Do you believe abortion providers should ask if a woman is feeling pressured into an unwanted abortion? If yes, press 1. If no, press 2. If you are not sure, press 3.
| Ask if Pressured | Frequency | Percent |
| 1 yes | 505 | 80.7% |
| 2 no | 70 | 11.2% |
| 3 unsure | 51 | 8.1% |
| Total | 626 | 100.0% |
Do you believe abortion providers should ask about risk factors that can help identify if a woman is more likely to experience emotional problems after an abortion? If yes, press 1. If no, press 2. If you are not sure, press 3.
| Ask About Risk Factors | Frequency | Percent |
| 1 yes | 438 | 70.2% |
| 2 no | 105 | 16.8% |
| 3 unsure | 81 | 13.0% |
| Total | 624 | 100.0% |
Pro-choice respondents were significantly more likely to not support screening
Have you ever been involved in advising someone to have an abortion? If yes, press 1. If no, press 2. If unsure, press 3.
| Advised to have Abortion | female | male | TOTAL |
| 1 yes Row % Col % | 58 55.2 14.4 | 47 44.8 21.3 | 105 100.0 16.8 |
| 2 no Row % Col % | 335 67.0 83.1 | 165 33.0 74.7 | 500 100.0 80.1 |
| 3 unsure Row % Col % | 10 52.6 2.5 | 9 47.4 4.1 | 19 100.0 3.0 |
| TOTALRow % Col % | 403 64.6 100.0 | 221 35.4 100.0 | 624 100.0 100.0 |
In response to this question, men were significantly more likely (p<.05) than women to have advised someone to have an abortion.
Imagine that an unmarried friend or family member told you she was pregnant, but she could not expect any support from her male partner. How would you advise her? If you would encourage abortion, press 1. If you would support the option of abortion, press 2. If you would avoid making any suggestion, press 3. If you would discourage abortion, press 4. If you would strongly discourage abortion, press 5. If you are not sure, press 6
| No Support from Partner | Frequency | Percent | Cum Percent | |
| 1 encourage | 32 | 5.1% | 5.1% | |
| 2 support option | 169 | 27.1% | 32.2% | |
| 3 avoid any suggestion | 117 | 18.8% | 51.0% | |
| 4 discourage | 131 | 21.0% | 72.0% | |
| 5 strongly discourage | 145 | 23.2% | 95.2% | |
| 6 not sure | 30 | 4.8% | 100.0% | |
| Total | 624 | 100.0% | 100.0% |
If you are Male, press 1. If you are Female, press 2. To have these choices repeated, press the star key.
| Gender | Frequency | Percent | Cum Percent | |
| Male | 221 | 35.3% | 35.3% | |
| Female | 405 | 64.7% | 100.0% | |
| Total | 626 | 100.0% | 100.0% | |
| Gender | pro-life | middle | pro-choice | TOTAL |
| female Row % Col % | 186 46.5 68.4 | 74 18.5 55.2 | 140 35.0 65.4 | 400 100.0 64.5 |
| male Row % Col % | 86 39.1 31.6 | 60 27.3 44.8 | 74 33.6 34.6 | 220 100.0 35.5 |
| TOTAL Row % Col % | 272 43.9 100.0 | 134 21.6 100.0 | 214 34.5 100.0 | 620 100.0 100.0 |
THANK YOU for your participation. GOOD-BYE
