@article {Steele390, author = {R Steele}, title = {Medical students{\textquoteright} attitudes to abortion: a comparison between Queen{\textquoteright}s University Belfast and the University of Oslo}, volume = {35}, number = {6}, pages = {390--394}, year = {2009}, doi = {10.1136/jme.2008.026344}, publisher = {Institute of Medical Ethics}, abstract = {Background: Abortion policy varies significantly between Northern Ireland and Norway. This is the first study to compare medical students{\textquoteright} attitudes towards abortion in two different countries.Objective: To assess medical students{\textquoteright} attitudes to abortion at the University of Oslo (UiO) and Queen{\textquoteright}s University Belfast (QUB).Design: An anonymous questionnaire completed by 59 medical students at UiO and 86 medical students at QUB.Participants: Students who had completed their obstetrics and gynaecology placements during 2006/2007.Results: The students{\textquoteright} responses (UiO versus QUB) were as follows: response rate, 95.2\% vs 92.5\%; stated no religious affiliation, 48.0\% vs 4.7\%; pro-abortion, 78.2\% vs 14.3\% (χ2 = 58.160, p\<0.001); had seen an abortion while studying medicine, 74.6\% vs 9.4\% (χ2 = 73.183, p\<0.001); in favour of abortion when there was a threat to the mother{\textquoteright}s life, 100\% vs 93.3\% (χ2 = 6.143, p = 0.150); in favour of providing abortion on the mother{\textquoteright}s request, 86.4\% vs 9.3\% (χ2 = 42.067, p\<0.001); in agreement that women should have access to free abortion services (mean value on a 5-point Likert scale 1.69 out of 5), versus in disagreement (mean 3.76, p\<0.001).Conclusion: There were significant differences in students{\textquoteright} attitudes to abortion, reflecting differences in religious, legal and educational experiences.}, issn = {0306-6800}, URL = {https://jme.bmj.com/content/35/6/390}, eprint = {https://jme.bmj.com/content/35/6/390.full.pdf}, journal = {Journal of Medical Ethics} }