Abortion Stigma: Attitudes Toward Abortion Responsibility, Illegal Abortion, and Perceived Punishments of “Illegal Abortion”

Abstract

We examined public opinion regarding unique aspects of abortion legality to better understand potential contexts in which stigma may occur and the extent that people (a) believe actors involved in abortion (i.e., pregnant woman, healthcare provider, man involved in the pregnancy, someone providing information about where to get an abortion, parents of a minor) should be held responsible for illegal abortion, (b) believe abortion should be illegal across different circumstances, and (c) endorse different punishments for pregnant women and healthcare providers, including variation by responsibility. An online survey was administered to 2,489 English and Spanish-speaking U.S. adults, using quota-based sampling, with post-stratification weights applied to match U.S. benchmarks. People scored healthcare providers and women more responsible than other actors. Although the majority did not support abortion being illegal for most circumstances, a substantial proportion were unsure. Additionally, “no punishment” was most frequently selected for the woman and healthcare provider. However, those who endorsed any punishment, compared with no punishment, typically indicated the pregnant woman and healthcare provider were more responsible. Our findings suggest that current laws criminalizing abortion are misaligned with public opinion and that pregnant women and healthcare providers are likely most susceptible to abortion-related stigma.