BACKGROUND: Since the UK Abortion Act (1967), women have travelled from Ireland to the UK for legal abortion. In 2011 >4000 women did so. Knowledge and attitudes of medical students towards abortion have been published, however, this is the first such report from Ireland. OBJECTIVE: To investigate medical students' attitudes towards abortion in Ireland. METHODS: All medical students at the University of Limerick, and physicians who graduated from the university within the previous 12 months, were invited via email to complete an anonymous online survey. The questionnaire comprised 17 questions. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed. RESULTS: Response rate was 45% (n=169; 55% women; 88.2% <30 years of age; 66.7% Irish; 29.2% North American). Outcomes were: abortion should not be legally available (7.1%), abortion should be allowed in limited circumstances only (35.5%), abortion should be legally available upon request (55%). 72.8% of respondents were moderately/strongly prochoice (74% of women/71% of men/72% and 76% of Irish and North American respondents, respectively). Students aged >30 years were less likely to be prochoice (55%). While 95.2% believed that education on abortion should be offered within medical school curricula, 28.8% stated that they would decline to terminate pregnancies even if legally permitted. While 58.8% indicated that they might perform legal abortions once qualified, 25.7% would do so under limited circumstances only. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of participants wanted education regarding abortion. Despite being predominantly prochoice, considerably fewer students, irrespective of nationality, indicated that they would perform abortions. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.
BACKGROUND: Since the UK Abortion Act (1967), women have travelled from Ireland to the UK for legal abortion. In 2011 >4000 women did so. Knowledge and attitudes of medical students towards abortion have been published, however, this is the first such report from Ireland. OBJECTIVE: To investigate medical students' attitudes towards abortion in Ireland. METHODS: All medical students at the University of Limerick, and physicians who graduated from the university within the previous 12 months, were invited via email to complete an anonymous online survey. The questionnaire comprised 17 questions. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed. RESULTS: Response rate was 45% (n=169; 55% women; 88.2% <30 years of age; 66.7% Irish; 29.2% North American). Outcomes were: abortion should not be legally available (7.1%), abortion should be allowed in limited circumstances only (35.5%), abortion should be legally available upon request (55%). 72.8% of respondents were moderately/strongly prochoice (74% of women/71% of men/72% and 76% of Irish and North American respondents, respectively). Students aged >30 years were less likely to be prochoice (55%). While 95.2% believed that education on abortion should be offered within medical school curricula, 28.8% stated that they would decline to terminate pregnancies even if legally permitted. While 58.8% indicated that they might perform legal abortions once qualified, 25.7% would do so under limited circumstances only. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of participants wanted education regarding abortion. Despite being predominantly prochoice, considerably fewer students, irrespective of nationality, indicated that they would perform abortions. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.
Entities:
Keywords:
Abortion; Applied and Professional Ethics; Clinical Ethics; Embryos and Fetuses; Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Authors: Pollyanna Cohen; Jonathan Mayhew; Faye Gishen; Henry W W Potts; Patricia A Lohr; Jayne Kavanagh Journal: BMC Med Educ Date: 2021-01-04 Impact factor: 2.463
Authors: Kornelia Zaręba; Valentina Lucia La Rosa; Ewelina Kołb-Sielecka; Michał Ciebiera; Rosalia Ragusa; Jacek Gierus; Elena Commodari; Grzegorz Jakiel Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-05-31 Impact factor: 3.390