Suchergebnisse

Despite societal changes in Western countries, abortion continues to be morally stigmatized. While research on abortion stigma targeted both at people who seek or voluntarily terminate their pregnancy and abortion providers has been conducted, stigma directed at those who advocate abortion rights has remained under-researched. The purpose of this study was to deepen understandings of abortion stigma in relation to Italian cisgender female pro-choice activists. Accordingly, a qualitative study was conducted to examine how participants experienced, perceived, and internalized stigma, as well as the strategies they employed to manage it. The sample included 34 Italian cisgender female pro-choice activists who were actively engaged in movements at the time of the study, including organizations or unions that publicly defend the right to abort. The findings revealed that participants perceive they are targets of negative stereotyping and behaviors. Nevertheless, they do not internalize the stigma and use different strategies to manage it, such as speaking openly about their activism.

Abstract. This research addresses the important issue of abortion, still controversial in Western countries. It provides a new perspective by examining attitudes not to abortion itself, but to women and their partners who decide to have an abortion. Through two experimental studies, we expected and found that the decision to abort increased moral outrage toward a woman (Study 1 and Study 2) and her male partner (Study 2). Moreover, we found that the decision to abort reduced a woman's (Study 1 and Study 2) and man's (Study 2) humanness through the mediation of elicited moral outrage. These findings clarify the continuing prevalence and perpetuation of disparaging attitudes toward those who seek an abortion, and suggest many directions for future research.