Public Opposition to Abortion in Central Asia’s Rapidly Changing Socio-Normative Context: A Case Study of Kyrgyzstan

Public views on abortion and corresponding policies vary globally and have evolved differently in different parts of the world. These trends are reflective of broader normative transitions. While most current debates in Western contexts revolve around the legality of abortion, in countries where this legality is not directly questioned, changing public attitudes may still have important implications for access to and utilization of abortion services. We use data from two rounds of a nationally representative survey conducted in the Kyrgyz Republic, a post-Soviet nation in Central Asia where abortion is legal but where the broader societal normative landscape has been evolving rapidly, shaped by a combination of enduring legacies of the Soviet era, considerable exposure to western values, and rising neo-traditionalism. We focus on opposition to abortion and distinguish between two scenarios for economically motivated abortion– one for marital pregnancy and another for non-marital pregnancy. We find instructive variations in opposition to abortion under each scenario, illustrating their context-specific complexities. In general, however, our findings point to rising opposition to abortion, which is reflective of the growing normative conservatism in this and similar post-Soviet settings. We also link these context-unique features to more universal determinants of abortion attitudes.