The UK Is One of the Most Liberal Countries on Divorce and Abortion

The UK is one of the world’s most liberal countries on divorce and abortion. According to a new report from the World Values Survey.

More than half of people say these activities are acceptable, up from 42% in 2009 and just over a third (33%) in 2022.

Divorce is still the most socially liberal area of marriage and family law, with a majority saying it is acceptable. However, a smaller percentage say abortion and euthanasia are also justifiable.

Abortion laws vary widely across Europe, and many of them are controversial. Some countries ban abortion entirely, while others allow it only in certain situations or with legal restrictions.

Some of the most liberal Western European countries, such as France and Denmark, allow women to obtain an abortion at any time up to 24 weeks, if they meet certain criteria.

Health Problem

For example, if the pregnancy will result in a serious health problem for the woman. Or if it’s caused by rape, they can have an abortion as long as the National Health Bureau gives its approval.

Despite these liberal laws, a number of barriers and restrictions make it difficult for people to access abortion services in their home countries. This includes gestational age limits, waiting periods, and a shortage of trained and willing providers.

A recent study examined the experiences of people traveling from restrictive contexts to England or Wales for abortion services. Participants who traveled to BPAS clinics in Great Britain were interviewed about their travel and their reasons for seeking abortion care.

In the first round of data, about a quarter of participants who traveled from restrictive contexts were considering abortion at least four weeks before seeking care at BPAS clinics.

This was similar to the proportion of participants who traveled from countries with liberal abortion laws and to those traveling from other locations in the EU where access to reproductive health services is more restricted.

Most Liberal Countries

This could indicate that travelers from restrictive contexts have a strong underlying desire to get an abortion, and that they are more likely to seek care in their home country before attempting to end their pregnancy in Great Britain.

For those who were not able to access abortion care in their home country, they typically traveled to England or Wales for surgical or non-surgical abortion services.

Some of these travelers reported that they did so because it was the cheapest or easiest place to get an abortion.

The availability of at-home abortion pills in the UK has encouraged an increasing number of women to opt for a medical termination of their pregnancies, particularly those who live in areas with less restrictive abortion laws. This has increased the risk of abortion complications, such as bleeding, infection, and pain.

The death penalty remains an issue of some debate in the UK, and while trends do not cover a long enough time frame to capture a full shift in views on this, the share of people who think it is definitely or maybe justifiable has risen to a significant minority over the past few years, even though it is still lower than in peer nations such as France, Germany, and Spain.

These figures are from the World Values Survey, which is nationally representative and based on surveys of 1,000 or more people aged 18 or more.