Attitudes towards the regulation and provision of abortion among healthcare professionals in Britain: cross-sectional survey data from the SACHA Study.

OBJECTIVES

To gather views of healthcare professionals on the regulation and provision of abortion in Britain.

METHODS

Cross-sectional, stratified cluster sample survey of healthcare professionals working in a range of healthcare services including abortion services. Measures included knowledge of and attitudes towards the regulation and provision of abortion.

RESULTS

A total of 771 healthcare professionals responded. More than nine in ten supported abortion being a woman's choice and a clear majority favoured abortion being treated as a health rather than a legal issue. Some 6.2% saw abortion at any gestational age as contrary to personal beliefs and a similarly small minority (6.7%) opposed abortion after 12 weeks' gestation. One in five of all healthcare professionals and a third of those aged under 30 years were unaware that the law in Britain requires two doctors to authorise an abortion. Free-text comments revealed opposition to the need for this legal requirement. Support for an extended role for nurses in abortion care was high; 65.3% agreed that nurses should be able to prescribe abortion medication. Little more than a third of all healthcare professionals (37.0%) agreed that abortion should be standard practice in their service; the proportion was highest among those in sexual and reproductive health services (58.4%) and lowest among those in general practice (18.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

Healthcare professionals in Britain were generally supportive of abortion being treated in the same way as other health issues and would be likely to support any moves to decriminalise abortion.