The survey also finds widespread dissatisfaction with the way the current law operates.

• 78 per cent of women want a compulsory cooling-off period between diagnosis of pregnancy and any abortion.
• A massive 96 per cent of women want a right to be fully informed of the medical risks associated with abortion.
• The most common reason for abortion is perceived to be on grounds of disability (66 per cent), and this proportion is even higher among women than among men. But this is far from correct. In 2004 only one per cent of abortions in England & Wales took place for this reason.
• Two-thirds of Britons support, and one-quarter oppose, a right for healthcare workers not to have to sign abortion forms or assist abortions where this would conflict with their ethical views.
• 84 per cent of Britons, including the same proportion of women, believe parents of girls under 16 have the right to know if their daughter has been referred for abortion. This rises to 90 per cent among women in social groups DE, often regarded as the most prolific client group for abortion.
• More than seven in ten Britons, including two-thirds of women, agree that fathers should be given a say over whether their child is aborted. Among women aged 18-24 this rises to 79 per cent.
• More people agree than disagree with the statement 'most abortions are carried out for purely social reasons' (49 per cent:41 per cent). This rises to 56 per cent agreement among Labour voters.
• The phrase "a woman's right to choose" clearly carries enormous emotional weight, as 65 per cent of Britons (both genders) agree that it 'always outweighs the rights of the unborn'. This however conflicts with the earlier statements about, for instance, abortion for disability.

Disability

• Only around one-third of people are aware that abortion is legal up to birth if the baby is disabled, and men are more ignorant than women of this. The youngest age group, 18-24 yrs, are the least likely to be aware of this fact.
• Most Britons regard it as unacceptable that under existing law abortion is legal up to birth on grounds of disability. Opinion runs strongest among the 18-24 yr age group, 73 per cent of whom regard it as unacceptable - perhaps because disability rights legislation is a more recent development. Interestingly, among both men and women those who voted Labour in the 2005 General Election are more likely to regard this law as unacceptable than those who voted for any other party.

Support for alternatives to abortion

• 87 per cent of women (and 83 per cent of men) agree that government funds should also be available to organisations offering alternatives to abortion such as adoption, in light of the funding given to private abortion clinics.
• 89 per cent of women support a legal duty on doctors to provide access to advice both from abortion providers and from organisations offering alternatives such as adoption.
• 85 per cent of women would rather see more support for women who wish to keep their baby than easier access to abortion - and support for this is particularly strong among the 18-24 age group and Labour voters.