Physician attitudes about abortion and their willingness to consult in abortion care at a Midwestern academic medical center.

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To assess abortion-related attitudes, practices, and perceptions among physicians of all specialties at a Wisconsin academic medical center. STUDY DESIGN: We developed and disseminated a cross-sectional web and mail survey to physicians at our academic center using a list generated by Human Resources. We performed descriptive analyses and assessed bivariate relationships between measures of support for abortion, perceived climate of opinion, willingness to consult in abortion-related cases, and sociodemographic and professional characteristics. We used binary logistic regression to model willingness to consult. RESULTS: We sent the survey to 1,357 physicians and received 913 (67%) responses. Participants reported strong support for unrestricted access to abortion and the efforts of abortion providers but estimated relatively lower support among peers. Compared to 556 (62%) who reported “a lot” of support for abortion access, only 183 (21%) estimated the same level of support among peers. Similarly, 615 (69%) participants reported “a lot” of support for abortion providers, compared to only 227 (25%) who estimated the same level of support among peers. Participants most commonly estimated that peers “somewhat” support abortion access (381; 43%) and abortion providers (344; 39%). Across specialties, 799 (90%) physicians said they were at least “somewhat” willing to consult in abortion-related cases. Compared to obstetrician-gynecologists and family physicians, other specialists were less likely to be willing to consult (aOR=0.43, 95% CI 0.29-0.65), though majorities of both groups were willing. Physicians who perceived equal or higher support for abortion among peers were more likely to be willing to consult (aOR=2.17, 95% CI 1.60-2.95). CONCLUSION: Most physicians at out center reported support for abortion; however, those who perceived less support among peers reported less willingness to consult in abortion-related care, regardless of specialty.