Attitudes Towards Abortion Among Married Women in Shanghai

Abstract

The current study sheds light on factors affecting women's attitudes towards abortion in Shanghai, China. A sample of 1,000 women aged from 20 through 49 years were interviewed. The samples were obtained from the outpatients in visiting order in five clinics including that of Shanghai University of Medical Sciences and interviews were conducted concurrently in the clinics until the required numbers were obtained. Analysis revealed permissive attitudes towards abortion related not only to their demographic and socioeconomic background such as women's age, educational attainment, monthly income, residence during childhood days, but also to their husband's attitudes towards contraception. The results suggested that “contraception care free” husband would expose his spouse to risk of an abortion and the episode of abortion would subsequently shape the women's attitudes towards abortion reflecting their negative psychological response. The 1995 official statistics for Shanghai showed that 92% of married women had practised contraception. Taking the contraceptive prevalence rate into account, the current study seems to suggest that abortion control in Shanghai is greatly dependent on the educational level of the husband.