Abortion practices and attitudes in cross-cultural perspective.

This article presents an overview of abortion practices and attitudes in primitive societies and in Western civilization. The changing positions of the major world religions and nations are provided. Attention is given both to restrictions on abortion and to its active promotion, as exemplified by current conditions in the People's Republic of China. A brief history of abortion in the United States is presented, following by the results of two major polls on consumer attitudes. The latter data indicate a growing liberalization of abortion attitudes and an association between such liberal beliefs and the following factors: age under 40 years, higher education, non-Catholicism, irregular church attendance, and positive attitude toward sex education in the schools and availability of contraceptives for teenage girls. It is also shown that people who strongly oppose abortion are more likely than advocates of abortion to lend financial or other forms of tangible support to their cause.