Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy, Bocconi University, Via Sarfatti 25, 20136 Milan, Italy.
Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy, Bocconi University, Via Sarfatti 25, 20136 Milan, Italy.
Soc Sci Res. 2020 Mar;87:102403. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2020.102403. Epub 2020 Jan 22.
Although abortion in Italy is free of charge and legal in a broad set of circumstances, 71% of gynecologists are registered as conscientious objectors, i.e. they are exempted from performing abortions for reasons of religious or moral beliefs. To assess whether this practice limits abortion access, we analyze aggregate regional data on abortion and a dataset of over one million clinical records of single interventions performed between 2002 and 2016. Results, from both cross-regional panel data and microdata analysis, suggest that conscientious objection hampers abortion access at the local level, being a significant driver of a woman's decision of having an abortion out of the region of residence and leading to longer waiting times to have one. Conscientious objection appears to have a stronger impact on women living in lower-income regions or experiencing other forms of economic disadvantage.
尽管在意大利，堕胎是免费的，并且在广泛的情况下是合法的，但 71%的妇科医生是出于宗教或道德信仰原因而被登记为“良心拒绝者”，即他们被豁免进行堕胎手术。为了评估这种做法是否限制了堕胎的机会，我们分析了堕胎的综合区域数据以及 2002 年至 2016 年间进行的超过 100 万例单一干预临床记录的数据集。来自跨区域面板数据和微观数据分析的结果表明，出于良心原因拒绝堕胎会在当地限制堕胎的机会，是导致女性决定离开居住地进行堕胎的一个重要因素，并导致等待时间延长。对于生活在低收入地区或面临其他形式经济劣势的女性来说，这种影响似乎更为明显。
