A clear majority of people on the Isle of Man support the right to life before birth and oppose sex-selective abortion, according to a new poll.
Research by ComRes, on behalf of Concerned Manx Healthcare Professionals, found 86 per cent of adults believe a child should have a right to life at some point before birth.
The poll also found that 70 per cent of people believe the law should be defined so that sex-selective abortion is not possible.
No coercion
And 81 per cent of people think all pregnant women should be assessed by a doctor before abortion to ensure that there is no coercion.
It comes as pro-abortionists are seeking to liberalise abortion law on the island.
The poll of 500 adults was conducted between 24th January and 3rd February 2018.
The Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency with its own Parliament, the Tynwald.
Protect unborn
Last month, Tynwald’s Lower Branch, the House of Keys, held its second reading of a Private Member’s Bill to liberalise the law.
The Bill seeks to allow for abortion on demand up to 14 weeks, and will now go through the amendment stage.
Currently, the law on abortion – based on legislation from 1995 – is generally stronger than that in Great Britain.
It provides more protection for unborn children, including disabled children, and includes a stricter two-doctor rule for making decisions on abortions.
Millions of abortions
Since the 1967 Abortion Act, there have been almost nine million abortions in Great Britain.
Last year, an opinion poll showed that seven in ten Brits oppose the decriminalisation of abortion. The poll, by ComRes and commissioned by Christian charity CARE, demonstrated overwhelming support for legal restraints on abortion.
It showed that nearly three in four (72 per cent) of the general public believe abortion should be subject to the law. Just one in eight (12 per cent) disagreed.
But the British Pregnancy Advisory Service are campaigning for abortion on demand.