Modeling lay people's ethical views on abortion: A Q-methodology study

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Social Science Research

Background:

• Understanding lay people's ethical decision-making in medicine is limited.
• This study investigated ethical resolution models concerning abortion among the general public.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how individuals balance ethical interests when faced with medical dilemmas.
• To identify and characterize ethical resolution models related to abortion.

Main Methods:

• A survey involving 196 respondents in a tertiary healthcare setting.
• Respondents rank-ordered 42 opinion statements on abortion.
• Data analyzed using averaging-analysis and Q-methodology.

Main Results:

• Consequentialism (focusing on health benefits and disease risk) was the predominant ethical approach.
• Q-methodology revealed multi-principled ethical models associated with demographics.
• Christian respondents favored a 'fetus rights plus State authority' model; Muslim respondents favored 'conception-oriented' and 'consequentialism plus virtue' models.

Conclusions:

• Consequentialism and rights-based approaches are key in lay ethical reasoning on abortion.
• Ethical resolution models are diverse, multi-principled, and influenced by demographic factors.
• The significance of motives in ethical decision-making challenges the sufficiency of principlism.