Knowledge and perception of medical students on legal abortion

Abstract

Abortion is a frequent practice in Brazil and a major cause of maternal mortality. Even under legal conditions, women face many barriers to access the procedure, often related to physicians’ unfamiliarity with the legislation. This article assess the knowledge of medical students from Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia of Universidade Federal da Bahia about the laws that regulate abortion in Brazil and their perception on the topic. This qualitative cross-sectional study analyzed data collected from a questionnaire answered by 237 students. Although the participants showed adequate theoretical knowledge of legal aspects, discrepant and incorrect answers were observed when asked about law enforcement in situations of legal abortion care, showing that education focused on the topic is required using multidisciplinary and transversal discussions during the medical course. Finally, we observed that participants tended to favor decriminalization of abortion.