Public Attitudes toward Abortion in Israel: A Research Note

Abstract

Objective. For the first time since the mid‐1970s, this study explored sociodemographic correlates of abortion attitudes among Israeli Jews and compared them with those reported by the General Social Survey in the United States. Methods. A survey in the representative sample of Jewish adults living in urban areas across Israel (N= 546) that included two related items on the attitude toward abortion for nonvital reasons. Results. Using multiple regression, four statistically and socially significant correlates of antiabortion attitudes were identified: Greater religiosity (especially Ultra‐Orthodox affiliation), lower than average income, greater number of children, and right‐wing political preference. Gender and age did not emerge as significant correlates of abortion attitudes. Whereas American Jews form the mainstay of the prochoice camp, Jews in Israel are clearly divided along the lines of religiosity, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and political views. Conclusions. In both Israel and the United States, the sociodemographic profiles of abortion supporters and opponents have been rather similar and stable over the last 25 years. This may point to the stable patterns of religiosity in both societies, since antiabortion sentiments have mainly been fueled by religious fundamentalism, regardless of formal denomination.

Religiosity and Fertility: Jews in Israel

“…These measures of self-identification of religiosity have been shown to encapsulate the fundamental meanings of religiosity among Jews in Israel (Goldscheider 2015). Moreover, these categories are well-understood social constructs within Jewish society in Israel, are associated with clear patterns of social behavior as described above, and are frequently usefully employed in social research in the current context (e.g., Bystrov 2012;Friedlander 2002;Hleihel 2011;Landau 2003;Okun 2000Okun , 2013Remennick and Hetsroni 2001). Therefore, we take subjective self-identification of religiosity (also referred to, for convenience, as self-defined religiosity or self-reported religiosity) as our starting point and consider how the relationship between selfdefined religiosity and fertility can be understood in terms of relevant theoretical factors, which shed light on that relationship.…”

Opposing Abortion, Gay Adoption, Euthanasia, and Suicide

“…Liberal dispositions predict the opposite. This is the case with regard to abortion (Remennick & Hetsroni, 2001;Tuman et al, 2013), homosexuality (van den Akker et al, 2013), euthanasia (Aghababaei, Wasserman, & Hatami, 2014;Koleva et al, 2012;Sørbye, Sørbye, & Sørbye, 1995), and suicide (Domino & Su, 1995). Moreover, unrestricted sexual attitudes are linked to pro-abortion attitudes and behavior (Coleman, Rue, Spence, & Coyle, 2008), and traditional gender roles emphasizing gender inequality underline negative attitudes towards abortion and homosexuality (Brint & Abrutyn, 2010;Osborne & Davies, 2012;Wang & Buffalo, 2004).…”

Moral dilemmas and abortion decision-making: Lessons learnt from abortion research in England and Wales

“…Internationally, research has shown how different morals and values have a role to play in abortion decision-making (Lie, Robson, & May, 2008). Comparative analysis has shown how the emotional effects of abortion are also influenced by socio-cultural value systems, so that women's cultural affiliations and beliefs have an impact on their emotional experiences and post-abortion feelings (Bennett, 2001;Kero, Hogberg, & Lalos, 2004;Lafaurie, Grossman, Troncoso, Billings, & Chavez, 2005;Remennick & Hetsroni, 2001). Increasingly this relationship has been analysed through the lens of abortion stigma (Cockrill & Nack, 2013;Kumar, Hessini, & Mitchell, 2009) in work that shows how a cultural understanding of abortion as somehow morally wrong can affect women who have an abortion (Kimport, Foster, & Weitz, 2011).…”