Attitudes of medical students towards the ethical and legal aspects of abortion: a cross-sectional study from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy which is a crucial issue to be addressed by multiple regulating systems such as health care providers and policy makers. The main aim of the study was to assess the attitudes of medical students in Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal university towards abortion in different circumstances. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study in which a 20-items online questionnaire was distributed through social media platforms to medical students. The results of the study showed that the majority of the students believe abortion should be determined by law, religion and spousal consent. The majority as well support abortion in cases of endangered mother’s life, fetal life compromise and rape victims. However, they were against abortion in cases of financial incapacity of the parents and cases of unplanned pregnancy. The results of the study can be applied to improve medical education of abortion. More studies in this field of research are recommended for the purpose of providing more inclusive assessment of abortion attitudes in different medical education settings.