YouGov Abortion Poll

I think it is wrong to suggest that Britain is predominately a pro-abortion country, we’re just far too polite when asked if we support abortion, we tend towards not wanting to cause offense to others. The data are very clear, we are, in practice, a pro-life country.

A YouGov poll conducted 28-29 September 2023 asks a set of questions to answer, “Where does the British public stand on abortion in 2023?” Some, including the YouGov journalists, proclaim that the results show that “Abortion is widely supported in the UK”, but that’s only one interpretation, and I think it is wrong.

Let’s consider the following key question: “To what extent, if at all, do you think abortion should be allowed before/after 24 weeks?”

In response, 75% of women aged under 40 agreed that abortion, before 24w, should be available to any woman who wants it; that is a strong majority leaning towards women’s right to choose what they want. Certainly, this can be interpreted as being pro-another’s-right-to-choose, that however is not the same as saying the women responding are pro-abortion.

I think it is interesting to note that only 25% of pregnant women have an abortion, the 75% majority choose to continue their pregnancies. These are not polling data but actual real-life outcomes;

…when it comes to it, less than 1 in 4 pregnant women choose abortion.

I would conclude from this that the majority of women are in fact responding more like, ‘I wouldn’t choose an abortion, but I will not deny a woman her right to choose, I am pro-another’s-right-to-choose.’

Note in the following how the support essentially reverses when applied to abortion after 24w.

So, whilst it seems that we might be pro-another’s-right-to-choose, that depends very much upon e.g., the circumstances, the reasons, and the gestational age. I wonder if there was more awareness and clarity about the risks of harm caused by abortion, and more freedom to say what we really believe, without worrying about causing offense to others or being judged by society for holding true to our feelings, would more of us have the boldness to say we are NOT pro-another’s-right-to-choose?