Attitudes toward abortion in Zambia

Despite Zambia's relatively progressive abortion law, women continue to seek unsafe, illegal abortions. Four domains of abortion attitudes – support for legalization, immorality, rights, and access to services – were measured in 4 communities. A total of 668 people were interviewed. Associations among the 4 domains were inconsistent with expectations. The belief that abortion is immoral was widespread, but was not associated with lack of support for legalization. Instead, it was associated with belief that women need access to safe services. These findings suggest that increasing awareness about abortion law in Zambia may be important for encouraging more favorable attitudes.