Pregnant women's attitudes to abortion and prenatal screening

Abstract

Recent advances in prenatal screening and diagnosis mean that an increasing number of women may be faced with the possibility of terminating a pregnancy on the grounds of fetal abnormality. Little is known, however, about the attitudes of pregnant women on the subject of abortion, either in the case of abnormality, or more generally. As part of a study of women's experiences of routine screening during antenatal care, 1824 women were asked their views on the acceptability of abortion, both for others and for themselves, in each of seven circumstances. Age, education, reproductive history and religious adherence were all found to be related to attitudes to abortion. While ‘a strong chance’ of handicap was seen by the majority as an acceptable reason for an abortion, a third of the sample said that they would not themselves consider it. This attitude did not appear to mean they wished to be excluded from routine screening programmes. Reasons for this are discussed. It is argued that those who say that they would not consider termination may quite rationally judge this to be irrelevant to their decision to accept screening, if their main purpose is to be reassured that their baby is not handicapped.