Attitudes toward abortion and conscientious objection among medical students in Mexico

Abstract

We conducted a survey on attitudes toward abortion and conscientious objection (CO) among Mexican medical students from Mexico City, where abortion was decriminalized in 2007, and Xalapa, a city where it was decriminalized in 2021. Fewer than half of them were aware of CO before participating. Men expressed greater support for CO than women. Agreement with CO was positively correlated with opposition to performing abortions for fear of stigma, and with anti-abortion attitudes. Medical educators should promote critical reflection on ethical dilemmas students are likely to face in their professional practice.