The Sinfulness of Unwanted Conception

Having an unwanted child is not considered by most people to be an immoral act. It is more an occasion of irritation or humor rather than morality. More conservative Protestants saw an unwanted conception as relatively less immoral but violations of traditional law as relatively more immoral than more liberal Protestants. Students aged 17-24 were queried at a traditional Protestant church college and at a more liberal Protestant college. In the Conservative Protestant (CP) sample 114 students were eligible and in the More Liberal Protestant (MLP) sample 92 respondents were eligible. 48% judged premarital sex with successful contraception as worse than premarital sex among the MLP group; 52% made the reverse judgement. Women tended to consider premarital relations more sinful than men. Hypothetical situations were presented to each respondent who ranked them in order of immorality. Attitudes toward the immorality of a definitely unwanted conception within marriage are not clear-cut among moderately liberal Protestants. 36% felt an unwanted conception was more wrong than stealing $100 impulsively.