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Almost Two-Thirds Of Australians Approve Of Abortion
Finding No. 3058 - Published exclusively in the Bulletin, cover date March 3, 1998.: March 03, 1998

Almost two-thirds of all Australians (65%, up 8% since February 1996) approve of surgical abortion to terminate unwanted pregnancies, while 25% (down 8%) disapprove and 10% (unchanged) are undecided, the Bulletin-Morgan Poll finds.

The Bulletin-Morgan Poll was conducted following controversy in Western Australia over abortion laws after two doctors were charged with attempting to procure an abortion.

On the issue of whether abortion laws should be changed, 47% of Australians believe the laws should be changed to make it easier to obtain an abortion, while 38% believe the laws should be left as they are. Only 10% believe it should be made harder to obtain an abortion and 5% are undecided.

These are the main findings of the latest Bulletin-Morgan Poll which was conducted by telephone among 633 men and women aged 14 and over throughout Australia on February 18/19, 1998.

 

1. Termination Of Unwanted Pregnancies Through Surgical Abortion

Respondents were first asked: "And thinking about the TERMINATION OF UNWANTED PREGNANCIES through SURGICAL ABORTION. Do you approve or disapprove of the TERMINATION of UNWANTED PREGNANCIES through SURGICAL ABORTION?"

The following table shows that 65% (up 8%, since February 1996) of Australians approved of surgical abortion to terminate unwanted pregnancies, while 25% (down 8%) disapproved and 10% (unchanged) were undecided.

  Analysis by Gender and Age
Termination Through Total Total Total  
Surgical Abortion Feb '95 Feb '96 Feb '98 Men Women 14-24 25-34 35-49 50 +
  % % % % % % % % %
Approve of surgical abortion 55 57 65 66 63 56 67 70 64
Disapprove of surgical abortion 32 33 25 22 27 35 22 17 27
Undecided 13 10 10 12 10 9 11 13 9
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
# Results from sample sizes under 50 should be treated with caution.

Men (66%) were slightly more likely than women (63%) to approve of surgical abortion. A majority of Australians in all age groups approved of surgical abortion. Australians aged 35 to 49 (70%) were most likely to approve, followed by those aged 25 to 34 (67%) and those aged 50+ (64%). Australians aged 14 to 24 (56%) were least likely to approve of surgical abortion.

  Analysis by State
Termination Through Total  
Surgical Abortion Feb '98 NSW Vic Qld SA WA Tas#
  % % % % % % %
Approve of surgical abortion 65 65 66 66 56 67 71
Disapprove of surgical abortion 25 25 24 24 33 22 15
Undecided 10 10 10 10 11 11 14
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
# Results from sample sizes under 50 should be treated with caution.

A majority of Australians in all States approved of surgical abortion.

2. Abortion Laws

Respondents were then asked: "Currently in most Australian States abortions are ILLEGAL unless the mother's life is in danger. In your opinion, do you think the law on abortion should be changed to make it easier to obtain an abortion, harder to obtain an abortion or do you think the law should remain as it is?"

On the issue of whether abortion laws should be changed, 47% of Australians believed the laws should be changed to make it easier to obtain an abortion, while 38% believed the laws should be left as they are. Only 10% believed it should be made harder to obtain an abortion and 5% were undecided.

  Analysis by Gender and Age
Should Abortion Total  
Laws Be Changed? Feb '98 Men Women 14-24 25-34 35-49 50 +
  % % % % % % %
Easier to obtain abortion 47 48 46 33 54 56 44
Remain as is 38 38 37 51 32 29 40
Harder to obtain abortion 10 9 11 12 9 9 10
Undecided 5 5 6 4 5 6 6
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
# Results from sample sizes under 50 should be treated with caution.

Opinions on abortion laws were similar for both men and women. The majority of Australians aged 35 to 49 (56%) and 25 to 34 (54%) thought it should be made easier to obtain an abortion while 44% of those aged 50 or over and only 33% of those aged 14 to 24 thought it should be made easier to obtain an abortion.

  Analysis by State
Should Abortion Total  
Laws Be Changed? Feb '98 NSW Vic Qld SA WA Tas#
  % % % % % % %
Easier to obtain abortion 47 48 53 41 31 53 55
Remain as is 38 38 33 44 48 26 32
Harder to obtain abortion 10 10 10 11 13 9 8
Undecided 5 4 4 4 8 12 5
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
# Results from sample sizes under 50 should be treated with caution.

A majority of those living in Tasmania (55%), Victoria (53%) and Western Australia (53%) thought it should be made easier to obtain an abortion. Slightly less than half (48%) of those living in New South Wales and 41% of those living in Queensland thought it should be easier to obtain an abortion, while only 31% in South Australia thought abortions should be easier to obtain.

Finding No. 3058 is taken from Computer Report No. 1448

The Morgan Poll is conducted by the
ONLY Australian or New Zealand member of the Gallup International Association.
No other public opinion poll taken in Australia or New Zealand
has this qualification.


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