A new YouGov shows that “Britons ultimately want to see less abortion”, says SPUC, after the public was found to be supportive of pre-abortion counselling, while also having concerns about DIY home abortion.
The YouGov poll findings came from a sample size of 2,098 UK adults surveyed on 28 and 29 September 2023. The poll found that large numbers of Britons, despite supporting abortion in principle, were split on DIY abortion, with 42% of respondents wanting the UK to scrap the scheme.
Allowing women to undertake abortions at home without supervision, DIY abortion was introduced in 2020 in response to lockdown. It was later made permanent, despite public opposition: a 2021 English consultation on the scheme, involving over 18,000 responses, saw 70% of respondents state that DIY abortion should end immediately.
The 2023 YouGov poll also found that 63% of Britons support a requirement for women to have counselling before going through with an abortion, with 66% of polled women supporting the proposition, rising to 75% among women aged over 40.
However, 87% of surveyed Britons said that abortion should be allowed; only 6% stated it should not, while 7% were unsure.
Britons want to give women a way out of abortion
SPUC’s Michael Robinson, Executive Director (Public Affairs and Legal Services), said: “There were 123,219 abortions in England and Wales between January and June 2022 – a horrific death toll, made worse by the promulgation of DIY abortion.
“The pro-life movement has a way to go to persuade the public about the injustice and harm of abortion. However, the recent YouGov poll reveals that Britons ultimately want to see less abortion.
“Unlike the abortion industry and its apologists, the British public has widespread concerns about the safety and ethicality of allowing women to undertake their own abortions without supervision.
“Moreover, most Britons, especially women, support a counselling requirement prior to abortion – a measure that would benefit everyone involved, including the unborn baby.
“As the pro-abortion lobby seeks to use DIY abortion and the Carla Foster case to advocate total decriminalisation of abortion, which will only lead to more needless death, this poll sends a clear message that the public wants to give women every chance to avoid abortion.”
End DIY abortion NOW, says SPUC
SPUC has launched a new postcard campaign urging supporters to write to the Health Secretary to call for an end to DIY abortion.
This year, Carla Foster, a mother from Staffordshire, was sentenced to prison time after she lied to provider BPAS to obtain abortion drugs well past the legal limit for abortion. Her daughter Lily was born dead at 32-34 weeks’ gestation.
In the aftermath of Carla Foster’s conviction, which later saw her released early from prison, the abortion industry used Foster to call for the decriminalisation of abortion, a cynical move slammed by SPUC.
Because DIY abortion is morally unsustainable and dangerous to women, SPUC is calling for the policy to be scrapped. Please click here to participate in SPUC’s postcard campaign.