The influence of religion on the refusal of legal abortion among brazilian women with pregnancy resulting from sexual violence

Backgroung: Restrictive Brazilian legislation allows abortion in exceptional cases, such as pregnancy resulting from a sexual crime. However, little is known about women who give up on having an abortion after receiving approval for the procedure. Objective: To verify the association between religion and abandonment of legal abortion in women with pregnancies resulting from sexual violence. Method: Cross-sectional study with 941 women with pregnancy due to sexual crime treated at the Pérola Byington Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil, from August 1994 to December 2012. The cases were grouped according to whether or not they gave up on abortion. The study variables were age, education, race/color, marital status, gestational age, religion, aggressor and type of intimidation. Odds Ratio and Wald chi-square test (χ2W) were calculated. Logistic regression adjusted by analyzing the variables with stepwise backward analysis was used. Data analyzed using SPSS15.0 software. Research approved by the Ethics and Research Committee with opinion nº 6767, CAAE nº 00957512.3.0000.5505. Results: In 92 cases (9.8%) the legal abortion was abandoned and in 849 (90.2%) the abortion was completed. Women who declared religion and who were raped by a known aggressor gave up abortion almost 2.5 times more often (OR=2.46; p<0.001). Those who declared they had no religion and had low education were 13 times more likely to give up on abortion (OR=13.23; p=0.017). Women without low education and who declared religion were 16 times more likely to give up on abortion (OR=16.32; p=0.014). Those who declared having a religion and were victims of known aggressors gave up on abortion 16 times more than those who had no religion (OR=16.32; p=0.014) Conclusion: The results suggest that religious beliefs can influence the abandonment of legal abortion in certain subpopulations of women.