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Abortion and disability |
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Introduction
Young people's attitudes to abortion for fetal abnormality:
report of the findings of a study looking at school and university
students' opinions presents the findings of a piece of
research carried out in the Autumn of 1997 and Spring of 1998,
at schools and at the university in Oxford. While the research
findings do not give definitive answers about how young people
think about abortion for fetal abnormality, hopefully what
has been found out can provide some useful insights about
the issues which shape the views of the 15 to 24 age range
on this subject. The research was co-ordinated by Jenny Davey,
and thanks are due to the group of students involved with
Oxford Pro-Choice Forum who helped carry out the research,
namely Maxine Lattimer, Clare Murphy, Simon Clarke, Donna
Clark, Ellen Kelly and Peter Currie. Thanks also to Dave Perks
for his assistance with data analysis.
It is important to emphasise that while the contents of this
publication hopefully make stimulating and interesting reading,
the main reason we have for publishing it is to contribute
to the development of pro-choice ideas and arguments. Abortion
for fetal abnormality has become thought of as a 'difficult
issue' within pro-choice circles. While there is good reason
for this perception of the question, in our view it is necessary
to find ways to make the issue less difficult to argue on.
It is important to find ways to ensure that those of us with
a pro-choice outlook can be confident in making the case for
a woman's right to abortion for whatever reason she sees fit,
including where the fetus is abnormal. To do so means we need
to understand as fully as possible why there might be objections
to abortion on this ground, and formulate a convincing response.
We hope that this publication can contribute towards that
process.
Ellie Lee and Jenny Davey August 1998
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