Managing Religion and Morality Within the Abortion Experience: Qualitative Interviews With Women Obtaining Abortions in the U.S.

ABSTRACT

Most women in the United States are religious, and most major religions in the United States doctrinally disapprove of abortion. A substantial proportion of U.S. women have abortions. Although relationships among religious beliefs, abortion attitudes, behaviors, and stigma have been found in previous research, the relationship between stigma and religion is understudied. In-depth interviews conducted with 78 women having abortions at nine sites in the United States found religion to permeate abortion stigma manifestations and management strategies identified in previous research, for religious and religiously affiliated respondents as well as those who did not claim a religious affiliation. Health-care providers, religious leaders, researchers, and advocates need to recognize the influence religion has on the experience of obtaining an abortion for all women in the United States.