This-thesis has examined abortion attitudes and trends during the 1972 through 1977 time span using such independent variables as age, sex, race, education, religious membership frequency of church attendance and• survey date. Log-linear techniques were employed to test the magnitude and nature of the effects of these independent variables on the dependent variable (abortion attitude).Data which was drawn from the General Social Survey (GSS) indicate the abortion attitudes held by the American public became more favorable immediately following the Supreme Court decision in 1973 and thereafter a plateauing effect of support occurred.Further statistical examination of the data shows that age, sex, and religious denomination are not significantly related to attitudes toward abortion and only small effects are noted for race and survey date. However, the two most important variables with the strongest impace on abortion attitudes are frequency of church attendance and educational attainment.

Thesis (M.A.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-176). Also available via the Internet.

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The feminist beliefs of abortion service providers and the effects of these beliefs on the delivery of health care to patients is examined by the author who is herself a feminist and member of an abortion clinic staff. Discussion includes abortion rates, abortion safety, characteristics of patients, and accessibility of abortion, particularly as affected by legislation and anti-abortion activism. The research consists of the author's personal experiences as a counselor and patient advocate, conducting patient health history interviews, supporting patients in the operating room, and attending patients during recovery. The data is presented in a personal narrative including autobiographical material, a methodological style supported by feminist theories which question the supposed objectivity and neutrality of conventional scientific methods. Three means by which feminist beliefs are expressed in the delivery of abortion services to patients are identified: the language used to refer to abortion and abortion-related services, the choice of abortion related topics addressed during clinic visits, and the reconfiguration of the conventional provider/patient relationship. / Graduation date: 1999