IVG: 82% of women who have had an abortion recognize that there are still obstacles to accessing abortion

Lack of structures, waiting times still too long… According to this barometer of Family Planning, revealed by France Inter, nine out of ten French people believe that there are still obstacles to accessing abortion.

There are still obstacles to access to voluntary termination of pregnancy. This is what nine out of ten French people (89%) believe, according to the Family Planning barometer, published Thursday, September 26, revealed by France Inter. The number of IVGs performed in France is up 3.7% in 2023 compared to 2022, according to figures published by the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees) on Wednesday.

According to this survey by Family Planning, carried out by the Ifop institute, 82% of women who have had an abortion recognize that there are still obstacles to accessing abortion.

First concrete obstacle: the lack of structures and waiting times that are still too long. More than half of the women surveyed (54%) who had an abortion in a health facility had to wait more than seven days to get an appointment for an IVG, instead of the five days recommended by the World Health Organization.

More than a quarter of women who have had an abortion (28%) also say they did not feel supported and accompanied by those around them, family or friends. While nearly eight out of ten women feel that they were well informed (79%) and well supported (79%) during discussions with health professionals before the abortion, some of them report a feeling of embarrassment. Two thirds of the women surveyed who had had an abortion (63%) are afraid of being judged or receiving comments from professionals or those around them.

According to this barometer, a third of women who had an abortion before the start of their 8th week say they did not have a choice of method (31%) and only 63% felt comfortable asking all their questions before deciding whether or not to have an abortion. Nearly four out of ten women (38%) surveyed felt pressure, whether to have an abortion (29%) or not to have an abortion (31%). The survey also highlights the fact that one in two women did not obtain a sick leave to have an abortion.

In this first barometer of Family Planning, it also appears that women are not equal when it comes to abortion. Those who live in rural areas and immigrants have more difficulty accessing abortion: 57% of women having an abortion and 58% of the general public note that women living in rural areas have more difficulty accessing abortion. This is also the case for immigrant women who do not have French nationality, undocumented immigrants or asylum seekers for example (55% of women having an abortion and 59% of the general public point this out).

Three months before the 50th anniversary of the Veil law, and while 85% of those questioned said they were very strongly attached to the right to abortion, nearly a third of French people (31%) and half of women who have already had an abortion (51%) fear a regression of this right in the near future in France, this barometer also highlights.

On Wednesday on franceinfo, the president of Family Planning Sarah Durocher questioned the reasons for these recourses to IVG, which are linked in particular to the fact that there is “very little information about contraception”recalling that “It’s been 10 years since there was a national campaign.” According to Sarah Durocher, the increase in the number of abortions is also the consequence of a “lack of access to health”with sometimes very long waits to see a gynecologist or a midwife in certain areas with a medical desert.