Mercy Procedure or a Nightmare? Attitude towards Pregnancy Termination among Polish University Students

Maciej Stokłosa, Iga Stokłosa, Mateusz Porwolik, Maciej Bugajski, Gniewko Więckiewicz, Tomasz Męcik-Kronenberg, Magdalena Piegza, Robert Pudlo and Piotr Gorczyca
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Maciej Stokłosa: Department and Clinic of Psychiatry, Medical University of Silesia, 42-612 Tarnowskie Gory, Poland
Iga Stokłosa: Department and Clinic of Psychiatry, Medical University of Silesia, 42-612 Tarnowskie Gory, Poland
Mateusz Porwolik: Department of Ophtalmology, Medical University of Silesia, 40-514 Katowice, Poland
Maciej Bugajski: National Research Institute of Oncology, State Research Institute, 31-115 Krakow, Poland
Gniewko Więckiewicz: Department and Clinic of Psychiatry, Medical University of Silesia, 42-612 Tarnowskie Gory, Poland
Tomasz Męcik-Kronenberg: Department of Pathomorphology, Medical Univeristy of Silesia, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland
Magdalena Piegza: Department and Clinic of Psychiatry, Medical University of Silesia, 42-612 Tarnowskie Gory, Poland
Robert Pudlo: Department and Clinic of Psychiatry, Medical University of Silesia, 42-612 Tarnowskie Gory, Poland
Piotr Gorczyca: Department and Clinic of Psychiatry, Medical University of Silesia, 42-612 Tarnowskie Gory, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Worldwide, there are about 121 million unintended pregnancies per year. The aim of the study was to assess the attitudes in different groups of students from 40 Polish universities towards pregnancy termination. In total, 9686 university students (20.1% male and 79.9% female) took part in our research. Questions about attitudes towards abortion in all possible circumstances were involved in the survey, which also included a socio-demographic questionnaire. Overall, 94.5% of women and 90.7% of men consider that abortion should be legal in the situation of a threat to the mother’s life, while only 52% of women and 38.7% of men accept it in the case of a hard financial situation for the mother. Most students stand for abortion in the situation of a threat to the mother’s life, in the case of rape, or in the case of a mortal fetus defect. Less than half of the students interviewed consider that abortion should be legal in the case of a hard financial situation for the mother or on the mother’s demand. People who declare a religious affiliation more often disagree with abortion, even in the hardest cases such as a danger to the mother’s life or a mortal fetus defect. The factor that influences the strongest on attitudes towards abortion is being an active Roman Catholic. The majority of students have a pro-choice attitude in respect of pregnancy termination.

Keywords: abortion; students; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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