The British public opposes attempts to decriminalise abortion and believes that the criminal law provides “clear boundaries” and protects “everyone involved” finds a major new poll from Whitestone Insight.
Asked if “Having an illegal abortion should continue to be a criminal offence to protect both the unborn and vulnerable women who could be coerced into losing a baby they may have wanted, for example by an abusive partner”, more than six in 10 (62 per cent) agreed, while less than one in five (17 per cent) disagreed.
A similar number (64 per cent) agreed with the statement that “Abortion is a matter of life and death and it is therefore appropriate that the criminal law provides a clear boundary to protect everyone involved”. Just 14 per cent of those surveyed disagreed.
The poll of more than 2,000 members of the public, commissioned by the pro-life group SPUC, is the first test of public opinion since plans to decriminalise abortion were put forward as amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently in Parliament.
It found the public massively under-estimates the number of terminations carried out in the UK each year with one in three (33 per cent) saying fewer than 50,000 and fully one-half (50 per cent) fewer than 100,000, nearly two-thirds of those questioned supported the idea of extending criminal sanctions to abortion providers. Asked if they agreed with the following statement: “It is unjust that pregnant women alone, and not those who prescribe or dispense women abortion pills, are liable for any misuse of those pills” 64 per cent agreed with just 17 per cent disagreeing.
Michael Robinson, Executive Director of SPUC, said the poll shows that the British public, has a better understanding of the complexities around abortion than those “championing abortion on demand”. He said: “The polling, the first since the publication of proposed amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, clearly shows that the British public doesn’t support abortion on demand and rejects the deeply flawed arguments from the abortion lobby that it should be removed from the criminal law. While believing that the law should be rarely applied, the public recognises that criminal sanction should be applied in some cases and wants the law extended to cover those abortion providers who act in a reckless fashion endangering the lives of mothers and their babies.”
Asked: “The criminal law should continue to be applied in cases of illegal abortion, but only where a woman could not reasonably have known how far through the pregnancy she was when the abortion pills were taken”, half (49 per cent) agreed with one in seven (15 per cent) disagreeing and one third (34 per cent) unsure or not answering.
Testing public opinion further, the survey asked: “Seeking an illegal abortion should not be a criminal offence”. Of those who expressed an opinion nearly six in 10 (58 per cent) disagreed and four in 10 agreed.
Mr Robinson concluded: “While the Great British public massively underestimates the number of abortions each year with half of those surveyed wrongly thinking it’s 100,000 or less, the true figure is nearly 300,000, they recognise a baby’s life is precious and abortion is not like having a bunion removed, it’s the termination of a baby’s life. This is why there must be reserve powers in the criminal law that protect both mother and child. Those peddling abortion on demand and without consequences are step with public opinion and I would urge MPs to reject these amendments and instead look at ways to extend criminal responsibility to those providers who recklessly endanger the health and lives of vulnerable women.”
Majority of Brits oppose plans to decriminalise abortion, finds major new poll
