PRO-CHOICE SUPPORT RISES
Survey shows 81% of sask. residents Believe abortion matter of choice
Taking the Pulse is a partnership between the University of Saskatchewan’s Social Sciences Research Laboratories and Postmedia News Saskatchewan. Pro-choice attitudes appear to be on the rise in Saskatchewan.
That’s according to new public opinion data compiled by the University of Saskatchewan’s Social Sciences Research Laboratories (SSRL) this month. The survey was part of the Taking the Pulse initiative, a partnership between the SSRL and Postmedia News Saskatchewan, that involves researchers calling a representative sample of Saskatchewan residents four times a year and asking for their views on hot-button topics in the province.
Researchers called 402 Saskatchewan residents at the beginning of March and asked whether they believe abortion is a matter of choice that should be decided between a woman and her doctor. The majority — 81 per cent — said they agree or strongly agree with the statement. Seventeen per cent of respondents said they disagree and the remainder didn’t know or refused to answer.
SSRL researchers previously asked Saskatchewanians for their views on abortion in 2012 and 2001; 70 per cent of surveyed residents expressed pro-choice sentiments in 2012, while 61 per cent did in 2001.
“I think that’s a very encouraging, steady increase in the support for women’s reproductive choice,” said University of Saskatchewan professor Karen Lawson, who specializes in reproductive psychology.
This year’s research by the SSRL found that men and women are equally likely to agree that abortion is a matter of choice to be decided between a woman and her doctor.
People living in urban areas were more likely to hold pro-choice views than rural residents: 85 per cent of urban residents expressed pro-choice views compared to 76 per cent of rural residents. That gap was similar to what was observed six years ago; in 2012,74 per cent of urban residents agreed abortion is a woman’s choice while 64 per cent of rural residents did.
Heather Hale, executive director of Saskatoon Sexual Health, said there’s a “disconnect” between how many people in rural Saskatchewan support a woman’s right to an abortion and the access they have to the procedure.
The only places women can get a surgical abortion in the province are Saskatoon and Regina.
In Saskatoon, women must contact a gynecologist to arrange an abortion. The procedure can be done up to 11 weeks and six days of gestation.
In Regina, women who need an abortion can self-refer to the Women’s Health Centre, where terminations are performed up to 18 weeks and six days of gestation.
“Rural and remote and on-reserve women have limited access,” Hale said. “This data shows us that folks support this and that there’s a need for these services and that not being able to provide these services is a violation of folks’ human rights.”
Hale said she fears access to abortion for people living outside Saskatchewan’s largest cities has decreased further since the Saskatchewan Transportation Company ceased operations last year.
At the end of last year, Saskatchewan’s 12 health authorities merged to form one provincial body, the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
Amanda Purcell, a spokeswoman for the organization, said in an email that the policies and procedures that existed in the 12 individual health regions — including those on abortion — “will be reviewed and redeveloped by our leaders, with a goal to remove any potential barriers and provide the best quality health care possible in our province.”
But it’s not clear whether or when a provincewide policy on abortion will be released. Purcell said in her email that transitioning to a single health authority remains in its early stages and there are more imminent priorities, including recruiting and hiring for executive director-level positions that will help lead the organization.
“Once these leaders are brought on board, they will be focused on building an organizational and leadership structure with more integrated, provincewide teams. Once this is complete, the work can then begin to create more consistent policies and procedures across the provincial system. We want to ensure our approach to this is thoughtful and reflects the important needs of our patients throughout the province.”
Lawson said she was glad to hear a provincewide abortion policy is on the table and she hopes such a policy would ensure women across Saskatchewan have the same access to abortion services, regardless of where they live.
“With amalgamation of the health districts, this would be a really ideal opportunity for them to develop and get that provincewide policy,” Lawson said.
“And I really hope that they capitalize on that opportunity.”
Although increasing access to abortion can be thought of as being an unpopular political move, Lawson said the data collected by the SSRL challenges that assumption.
“The data from this survey show that the vast majority of Saskatchewan residents did support women’s reproductive choice,” she said.
“A provincewide policy that enhanced abortion services and access to abortion services wouldn’t be out of sync with those attitudes.”
But although 81 per cent of survey respondents said they agree that abortion is a matter of choice that should be decided between a woman and her doctor, 17 per cent disagreed, including 13 per cent who strongly disagreed.
“It’s often those people who disagree with an issue that seem to be the most publicly vocal, so that often can make it appear that there is more social controversy than there actually is,” Lawson said.
“(The SSRL data) is good data, rather than who’s just making their voices the most publicly heard ... That is data that decision makers hopefully will attend to.”