What do Canadians really think about abortion?
By Joanne Byfield

Canadians have been asked fairly frequently over the past 20 years where they stand on abortion. The responses have varied considerably depending on the questions asked and the group reporting the results. Politicians and others often say the issue has been decided in Canada, that we have reached an acceptable compromise, and that Canadians are satisfied with the status quo. However, poll results vary so wildly, it is clear that Canadians are conflicted on this issue.

The disparity is not really a case of lying with statistics, as many would suggest. (I do think, however, that polls are sometimes deliberately constructed to elicit a particular outcome.) It is rather that people react emotionally to the question asked. Because Canadians have never had a full and open public debate on abortion, there is much ignorance about the issue.

Most people have no idea how many abortions are performed annually in Canada (over 110,000), that taxpayers pay for most of them, that there is usually not a medical reason for the abortion, and that there are no legal restrictions whatsoever on the procedure. A new book by two Canadians, Women's Health After Abortion , which documents the physical and mental health problems associated with abortion, received almost no media coverage. Most Canadians are unaware that abortion leads to significant health problems in some women.

Canadians have been told that hundreds, if not thousands, of women died from back-alley abortions when abortion was illegal. In fact, according to the Badgley report written for the federal government in 1978, there were about 12 women a year who died from such procedures between 1958 and 1969 when abortion was legalized in Canada. People worry that women who get pregnant from rape or incest will be forced to complete the pregnancy. These cases account for a small fraction of the 110,000 annual abortions, but Canadians do not hear that.

COMPAS/National Post Poll

As a result, when Canadians are asked a broad question and asked for a "yes" or "no" response, they tend to give the widest possible latitude to cover the hardest cases. The most recent and widely publicized example is the COMPAS/National Post poll in late November of 2002, which asked 608 Canadians if they thought women should have "complete freedom to decide to have an abortion." Over three-quarters (78%) said "yes" while 17% said "no." They were not given any alternative but "yes" or "no" (although if they said "in between" or "don't know" it was recorded).

"Complete freedom to decide to have an abortion" is open to interpretation. Does it mean abortion should always be legal? Does it mean men should have no say in the decision? Does it mean the government cannot impose a decision on individuals? Canadians, in this instance, do not want to force anyone to have a child or, for that matter, to have an abortion.

Gallup Polls

A quite different picture of Canadian opinion emerges when the question is more specific and allows a detailed response. Gallup has been polling Canadians almost annually on abortion since 1975. It asks very specific questions that have a direct bearing on public policy. Gallup asks, "Do you think abortions should be legal under any circumstance, legal only under certain circumstances, or illegal in all circumstances?"

In 2001, the most recent time Gallup posed that question, only 32%, less than one-third of the 1003 polled, agreed that abortion should be legal under any circumstance. Over half (52%) thought it should be legal only in certain circumstances and an additional 14% said it should never be legal. In other words, two-thirds thought there should be some legal restriction on abortion in Canada. Gallup polled on its own behalf, not for a client.

In 2002, Gallup posed a different question. It asked 1,003 Canadians to "Please tell me if you personally think abortion is morally acceptable or morally wrong." Fifty-seven percent said it was morally acceptable and 40% said it was morally wrong. Despite the fact that abortion has been legal in Canada since 1969 and available on demand since 1988, 40% of us think it is wrong.

Léger Poll

These results are similar to a Léger Marketing poll conducted in October, 2002. Léger added two questions to its Omnibus poll at the request of LifeCanada. Léger asked 1,500 Canadians, "At what point during human development should the law protect human life? Should it be from conception on, After three months of pregnancy, After 6 months of pregnancy, Or from the point of birth."

Thirty-seven percent said human life should be protected from conception on, 13% said only after threemonths and 6% said only after six months. Only 30% supported the current policy of no legal protection until birth. Both of these polls give clear direction on a specific policy question.

Public Funding for Abortion

The other question Léger asked on behalf of LifeCanada was about publicly funded abortion, a subject on which there have been very few polls. Roughly 3,000 respondents were asked, "When it comes to the use of public funds for abortions, which of the following options best corresponds to your opinion?

Paying for an abortion should be a private responsibility, including Blue Cross or other private health plans,

An abortion should be financed through tax dollars, but only for medical emergencies such as a threat to the mother's life or in the case of rape or incest,

An abortion should always be paid for by the health-funded (sic) tax system."

Fifteen percent said it should always be a private responsibility, 51% said only in medical emergencies or for rape and incest, and 23 % said it should always be funded publicly. That means that two-thirds of Canadians polled thought that most abortions should be privately funded, whereas at present in Canada, almost all are publicly funded.

Open debate necessary

This brief survey illustrates the need for an open debate on the issue of abortion. Typically, such debates result in a great deal of public education and lead to research on the particular issue being debated. In Canada, we have spotty and incomplete reporting of even such basic information as how many abortions are performed in Canada annually. We have no information on the specific reason (personal or medical) for the procedure, and very little dissemination of the existing scientific studies on the effects of abortion on women and families.

This question encompasses serious moral, ethical, human rights and health issues that deserve open and free debate.?

Joanne Byfield represents Alberta on

LifeCanada's Board of Directors.