The views and attitudes towards abortion in Malta : is there a generation gap?

Abstract

Abortion remains a contentious and emotionally charged topic, especially in Malta where it is still considered a taboo subject. Malta is still highly influenced by the Catholic Religion, which is perhaps one of the reasons why Maltese nationals are hesitant to openly discuss the topic of abortion. Most individuals have highly polarised views on the topic, making it difficult for people to engage in constructive discussions. The newly proposed Bill on abortion has initiated debates in Malta, suggesting that the Maltese population has possibly moved away from treating abortion as a taboo issue. The principal aim of this study is to find out whether people belonging to different generations have differing or similar views and attitudes towards the topic of abortion. This study investigated whether there are correlations between age and attitudes towards the statements ‘Abortion is a human right’, ‘abortion is a sinful act’, whether abortion should be legalised, decriminalised or remains a criminal act and whether abortion should be legalised in all or certain circumstances. Apart from age, other demographics such as gender and level of religiosity were also investigated. A questionnaire was formulated by the researcher on google forms and distributed on social media. Via snowball sampling, 180 responses submitted were taken into consideration. Results were inputted in the IBM SPSS statistics software and analysed. Results of the study show that the most significant predictors of attitudes towards abortion are age and level of religiosity. Younger, less religious individuals, were found to be more supportive of the legalisation and decriminalisation of abortion than older, more religious individuals.