Work

Pro-Life Policy Preferences Partly Reflect Desires to Suppress Casual Sexual Behavior, Not Solely Sanctity of Life Concerns

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Pro-life individuals often emphasize sanctity-of-life concerns as driving their opposition to abortion. This implies the straightforward prediction that the more strongly people oppose abortion for such reasons (e.g., “abortion is murder”), the more they will endorse policies preventing abortions (face-value account). An alternative suggests that typically non-conscious reproductive goals (e.g., discouraging casual sex) influence policy preferences; this strategic account predicts a different pattern of policy endorsement: all else equal, abortion opponents will prioritize abortion-preventing policies discouraging casual sex. A pilot study and two pre-registered US experiments (N=1960) provide relatively greater support for the strategic account: the strongest abortion opponents more strongly endorse policies that prevent abortions by discouraging casual sex (e.g., abortion bans, abstinence-only sex education) over policies that do not (comprehensive sex education)—even controlling for conservatism and religiosity. Commonly-voiced arguments against abortion may be more rhetorically effective but less reflective of genuine drivers underlying arguers’ beliefs.

Source: Social Psychological and Personality Science

DOI: 10.1177/19485506251320681

Authors: Jordan W. Moon, Jaimie Arona Krems

Institutions: Toulouse School of Economics, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Université Toulouse Capitole, Brunel University of London, University of California, Los Angeles

Language: English

Topic: Reproductive Health and Contraception

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,900