Attitudes toward abortion in Thailand: a survey of senior medical students

A majority of senior Thai medical students favored induced abortion in many circumstances not now considered legal. While 20 percent would not perform abortions for any reason, many of these would refer cases to colleagues. Independent variables consistently and significantly influencing attitudes conservatively were: female sex, certain medical schools attended, larger ideal family size, intention not to teach in a medical school as a career, having a father in unskilled or semiskilled or work, never having witnessed an illegal abortion, and never having been asked to find an abortion practitioner for a friend. A random reordering of the questions did not affect reports of attitudes toward or willingness to perform induced abortion.