Assessment of the Attitudes of 15-49 Year Old Women and Men towards Legalization of Abortion in Mekelle Town, Tigray, Ethiopia
A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Mekelle Town, Tigray, during
December 2001 to January 2002, to assess the attitudes of 15-49 year old women and men
(n=838) towards legalization of abortion. Random cluster sampling of Kebeles with
systematic household selection procedure was used to include respondents. The study utilized
both quantitative and qualitative methods (focus group discussions). Data for the quantitative
part were collected by trained interviewers, using a pre-tested, structured questionnaire.
A lifetime history of abortion was reported by 14 (6.7%) of those who previously had ever
been pregnant, with 2.9 abortions/100 pregnancies. Out of the total 17 abortions, only 1
(5.9%) was reported to be induced for the purpose of terminating the pregnancy. Of all
respondents, 712 (85%) perceived unsafe abortion as a major health problem in their locality.
Six hundred eighty seven (82%) were aware that induced abortion is currently illegal in
Ethiopia. Out of the total respondents, 473 (56.4%) preferred induced abortion on demand to
be legalized, while 355 (42.4%) opposed it. The majority, 572 (68.3%) believed that legal
abortion services would reduce health problems related to unsafe abortion. The majority of
the focus group participants opposed legalization of induced abortion.
In conclusion, the majority of the people living in the study area have positive attitudes
towards legalization of induced abortion, and that significantly larger proportion of the people
prefer induced abortion on demand to be legalized. Education, positive attitudes and practices
on family planning, and perceiving unsafe abortion as a major health problem, are likely to
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influence positively the attitudes of people towards legalization of induced abortion,
particularly in the study area. Religion, socio-cultural factors and availability of resources for
service provision are also appeared to be to influence the process of legalization of induced
abortion. It was also concluded that people living in the study area are aware that unsafe
abortion is a major health problem in the locality; and the fact that induced abortion is illegal
at present in Ethiopia. Undertaking national legal reforms on abortion to liberalize induced
abortion; dissemination of information and education on risks of unsafe abortion and
prevention of unwanted pregnancies and promotion of family planning in the study area; and
conducting community-based studies of national representativeness on legal aspects of
abortion, are recommended.