Evaluation of Women's Abortion Knowledge and Attitudes in Syria: An Online Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Abstract Background Unsafe abortion is terminating an unwanted pregnancy in a non-medical setting, with incompetent physicians, or both. Women's understanding of legal abortion might impact their choice to seek safe and legal abortion services; thus, this study aims to assess Syrian females’ attitudes and knowledge regarding legalized abortion and identify the factors associated with positive attitudes and good knowledge.Methods This cross-sectional survey was conducted among Syrian women from 18 November 2022 to 3 January 2023. The inclusion criteria were all Syrian women in the reproductive above 18 years. The questionnaire consisted of 25 items separated into four sections: sociodemographic information, abortion medical history, knowledge about legalized abortion, and attitudes toward legalized abortion.Results This study included 1648 women of reproductive age. The age group 20–24 had the most participants (37.8%). Most participants (85.9%) have never had an unwanted pregnancy. Nearly half of the participants (49.5%) favored the legalization of abortion on patient demand; however, only 31.3% would perform an abortion if it was legalized. Only 26% of the participants state that they know what safe abortion is. Only 23.6% of respondents agreed that women decide to terminate their pregnancy for any reason. More than half of the participants do not know about abortion complications (59.8%), and 56.3% do not know if abortion is legal in Syria. Married women were 1.3 times more likely to favor abortion legality than single women (P-value = 0.035). In comparison, married women were less likely to have a good knowledge regarding abortion legality compared to singles (OR = 0.708, P-value = 0.005).Conclusion Syrian women have moderate views on legalized abortion, yet information gaps exist. Awareness and natural knowledge initiatives are needed to encourage women to use legal abortion techniques and avoid harmful outcomes. Healthcare practitioners should tell pregnant women about legal abortion and assist them in getting a safe abortion if needed.