Abortion in South Africa 24% in favour
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Twenty-four percent of urban-dwelling South Africans are in fa-
vour of abortion on demand, a market research company said to-
day. Research Surveys said in a statement they had surveyed a
sample of 500 adult South Africans living in metropolitan areas
and with access to a land line telephone.
The company said the issue was clearly one where people held
strong views, with only 3% saying they "don't know", although
this rose to 11% among Indians. The telephone study revealed a
strong correlation with wealth on the issue, with only 18% in
favour in households earning less than ZAR 6,000 per month.
Agreement rose to just over 40% among people in households earn-
ing over ZAR 15,000 a month. Gender differences were minimal,
but different population groups gave different responses, with
30% of Indians agreeing, whites 31%, Africans 20% and coloureds
16%. The study found no differences by city, or "perhaps sur-
prisingly", by marital status.
In case of rape, when those who said "no" or "don't know" to
abortion on demand were asked "What if a woman was raped and
fell pregnant?" 65% of these people agreed that abortion would
then become justified. This made a total of 73% of people agree-
ing that abortion would be justified in certain circumstances.
For more details, visit:
http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/health/0,2172,91307,00.html
A. Odutola
mailto:chpss_abo2@yahoo.com