Most adult Jamaicans polled on the controversial issue of abortion said they agree that the practice is morally wrong, a survey conducted by Don Anderson has found.
According to the poll, when respondents were asked to state the extent of their agreement with the statement 'Abortion is morally wrong', 73 per cent said they strongly agreed, 12 per cent said they agreed somewhat, while nine per cent strongly disagreed and six per cent said they disagreed somewhat.
"The general consensus was that abortion was morally wrong," said the pollster. "Eighty-five per cent of all persons interviewed expressed this view.
"This suggests that this view was consistently held across all the various demographic groups, virtually to the same extent," he added.
The poll, commissioned by the Mustard Seed Communities - a member of the Ecumenical Pro-life Council - was conducted between June 4 and June 10 among 535 persons between the ages of 18 and 65 years.
According to Anderson, the poll has a margin of error of "plus or minus 4.5 per cent at the 95 per cent confidence level".
Mustard Seed commissioned the poll to encourage public discussion on the controversial issue ahead of a parliamentary debate likely to take place this year.
"A significant number of studies have been done, particularly in more developed markets, to guide the development of legislation in this regard," said Anderson, in giving a background to the survey. "In Jamaica, the debate has perhaps not been as intense, but the concerns no less.
"Parliament is likely to vote this year on this issue of legalising abortion. Such a decision, it is felt, should be informed by scientifically-gathered data."
A Joint Select Committee of Parliament has been contemplating the report of the Abortion Policy Review Advisory Group (APRAG) established in 2005 by former health minister John Junor with the aim of reducing what was said to be the high rate of maternal mortality in Jamaica.
But APRAG's recommendation that abortions be legalised has drawn fire from pro-life groups who argue that it is contrary to the law of God and militates against deeply-held values in Jamaica.
Wednesday: Are the media and the state sufficiently concerned about morality in sexual matters?
Source: The Jamaica Observer
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