Examining the Relationship Between Perceptions of Pregnancy and Fetal Development Timing and Support for Abortion Bans

ABSTRACT

This study examines the relationship between perceptions of pregnancy and fetal milestone timing and support for abortion bans. Using survey data collected from a representative sample of 739 US adults, we use logistic regression to predict support for six- and 15-week abortion bans. Perceptions of timing for the milestones of pregnancy awareness and fetal pain are significantly related to support for six-week abortion bans. Furthermore, this relationship is moderated by abortion identity labels (e.g. pro-life, pro-choice). Our findings suggest that, although perceptions of milestone timing may be related to abortion attitudes, the relationship is nuanced.

KEYWORDS:

• Abortion attitudes
• reproductive health knowledge
• Roe v. Wade
• Dobbs v. Jackson

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. As of January 2020, 17 out of 18 of these laws were not in effect due to ongoing or resolved litigation.

2. ∆ = Unless further subscript is provided, this represents the difference in average predicted probability between the reference group (pro-life) and comparison groups (e.g. pro-choice).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Anonymous Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Brandon L. Crawford

Brandon L. Crawford is an M-PI on the Indiana University Abortion Attitudes Project (IUAPP) and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Health Science in the School of Public Health at Indiana University Bloomington. He earned his PhD in Sociology from the University of Oklahoma in 2017. His main areas of research include the measurement of attitudes regarding controversial social issues and examining the relationship between child maltreatment, child welfare experiences, and adverse life events throughout the life-course. He has expertise in the analysis of secondary data (including data with complex survey designs), survey development, and quantitative analyses.

Kristen N. Jozkowski

Kristen N. Jozkowski is an M-PI for the Indiana University Abortion Attitudes Project (IUAPP). She received her PhD in Health Behavior from Indiana University in 2011 with minors in Mixed Research Methodology and Human Sexuality. Dr Jozkowski is the William L. Yarber Endowed Professor in Sexual Health in the Department of Applied Health Science in the School of Public Health, a Senior Scientist with the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, and affiliate faculty in gender studies at Indiana University.

Lucrecia Mena-Meléndez

Lucrecia Mena-Meléndez is an Assistant Research Scientist for the Indiana University Abortion Attitudes Project (IUAPP) in the Department of Applied Health Science in the School of Public Health at Indiana University Bloomington. She earned her PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2021. Her main areas of research include measurement of attitudes regarding abortion, cross-national research in sexual and reproductive health, demographic research on maternal and child health, and the bridging of mixed methodologies.

Ronna C. Turner

Ronna C. Turner is a Co-Investigator for the Indiana University Abortion Attitudes Project (IUAPP). She received her PhD in Educational Psychology specializing in quantitative and evaluative research methodologies from the University of Illinois in 1999. Dr. Turner is a professor in the Educational Statistics and Research Methods program and a concentration director in the interdisciplinary Statistics and Analytics program at the University of Arkansas. Her research interests include instrument development and psychometric methods for validity assessment.

Wen-Juo Lo

Wen-Juo Lo is an Associate Professor and program co-coordinator in the Educational Statistics and Research Methodology (ESRM) program at the University of Arkansas. Before coming to the US, he worked in a general hospital in Taiwan for five years and conducted inpatient and outpatient psychotherapy as well as psychological assessments. He holds a PhD in measurement, statistics, and methodological study from Arizona State University. His research interests involve methodological issues related to latent factor modeling with a focus on psychometric methods in examining the validity and reliability of the psychological inventory.