ABSTRACT
Lawyers are important actors shaping the abortion debate in Mexico. Of 250 private and public sector criminal lawyers surveyed from four regions, the majority knew about abortion laws in their states. At least 80% agreed with abortion in cases of rape, risk to a woman's life or health, and fetal malformations. Overall, 61% agreed with the Mexico City law and 84% would defend a woman denied a legal abortion. In multivariate analysis, being very knowledgeable of abortion laws was a significant predictor of more "progressive" abortion opinions, support for the Mexico City law, and support for the health indication.
Subject(s)
Abortion, Induced/legislation & jurisprudence , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Lawyers/psychology , Public Opinion , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Lawyers/statistics & numerical data , Male , Mexico , Middle Aged , Multivariate Analysis , Pregnancy , Private Sector , Public Sector , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young AdultABSTRACT
A nationally representative survey was conducted among 3000 Catholics in Mexico during 2009 and 2010. Respondents were presented with a hypothetical situation about a young woman who decided to have an abortion and were asked their personal opinion of her. On the basis of a stigma index, it was found that the majority (61%) had stigmatizing attitudes about abortion; however, 81% believed that abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances. Respondents were significantly more likely to stigmatize abortion if they disagreed with the Mexico City law legalizing the procedure (odds ratio 1.66; 95% CI, 1.30-2.11) and believed that abortion should be prohibited in all cases (odds ratio 3.13; 95% CI, 2.28-4.30). Such stigma can lead women to seek unsafe abortions to avoid judgment by society.
