The simple truth is that the tens of thousands of women who seek abortion each year are not ignorant of contraception - most have tried to use it and, indeed, may have used it and become pregnant regardless. Women's need for abortion is implicitly understood by policymakers and legislators. This is why abortion is provided at NHS hospitals throughout the country. Most democratic societies hold that women should expect, and be expected, to make a broader contribution to society than bearing and caring for the next generation. Motherhood is still regarded as 'natural' at some time in a woman's life, but most people assume that motherhood will be an interval sandwiched on both sides by an income-generating 'job' if not a 'career'.
Society currently places a high premium on ' planned parenthood'.
The belief prevails that children should be wanted, that parents should be able to support them, and be willing to make sacrifices for them. Growing social concern about 'unfit' or 'problem' parents does not easily co-exist with a disposition to force people to bear children they do not want and by their own admission cannot care for. This ethos creates a framework whereby abortion can in some circumstances be perceived as a 'responsible choice' even by social conservatives who would disapprove of abortion in principle. Surveys of public opinion suggest widespread tolerance of legal abortion. 25 percent disagreed.