INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND INDUCED ABORTION IN UNWANTED PREGNANCIES

Abortion is always overshadowed by different factors and influenced by
psychological, social, and biological factors. Induced abortion rate in unwanted pregnancies is still high
in Iran. Due to the fact that induced abortion has always been condemned and unauthorized in Islamic
societies, the current study aims to investigate the relationship between the levels of religious beliefs on
reducing induced abortion in unwanted pregnancy.
Materials & Methods: The current study is a cross-sectional descriptive analytical study about women
visiting Health-Care Centers in Kazerun city during 2018-2019. The contributors were chosen among
the women who had unwanted pregnancies. The selection of samples was done by available sampling
method and data collection tool has been questionnaire including demographic information and have an
induce abortion or not to have an abortion and asses religious beliefs. To assess religious beliefs, Glock
and Stark's questionnaire was used. To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistics were
utilized using the SPSS 22. For this purpose, mean and standard deviation (descriptive statistics) and
Eta coefficient and independent T-test (inferential statistics) were used. For all tests the maximum error
was 5%.
Results: Based on the findings there was no significant difference between the two groups of women
(have an intentional abortion or have no intentional abortion) in terms of demographic characteristics
(p›0.05). The rate of unwanted pregnancies and the rate of time unwanted pregnancies in group 2 (have
no abortion) were higher than group 1 (have an abortion).Religion Score in group 2 in different
dimensions of religiosity and total religiosity is higher than group 1. The correlation between religious
beliefs and having an intentional abortion or no intentional abortion was high. There was a significant
difference between two groups in terms of religious belief (p ‹0.001).
Conclusion: Based on the results of this research, there is a strong correlation between women's religious
beliefs and non-induced abortion in unwanted pregnancies. Despite providing the ground for prevention,
training and awareness are critical for reducing the complications of unhealthy abortion. In this regard,
it is necessary to provide training about the theoretical, practical, and religious principles