Knowledge and Opinions about Abortion Law among Mexican Youth

Davida Becker, Population Council
Sandra Garcia, Population Council

In Latin America, unsafe induced abortions cause significant morbidity and mortality for women. Little is known about public knowledge of abortion law or public opinion towards abortion, however, these factors impact abortion services and abortion policy reform. This paper uses data from a nationally representative survey in Mexico to analyze public knowledge of abortion law and opinion on abortion among 907 study participants, aged 15-24. Logistic regression is used to estimate odds ratios for factors associated with knowledge on abortion law and abortion opinion. Factors associated with accurate knowledge on abortion law include living in Mexico City, the Pacific North, or the Southeast, college education, urban residence, and liberal opinion towards emergency contraception. Conservative opinions towards abortion are associated with conservative opinion on emergency contraception and low education. Residence in Mexico City or the North Central Gulf and having friends who have used emergency contraception are associated with liberal opinion.

Presented in Session 128: International Issues in Abortion