Exploring Social Work Student Attitudes Toward Abortion Post Dobbs

Background:Social workers across various practice types—whether in healthcare, community services, or child welfare—often engage with individuals who have experienced abortion, faced unintended pregnancies, or interacted with reproductive healthcare services. With approximately half of U.S. states having restrictive abortion laws, social workers may find themselves working with clients who are navigating these barriers, including providing referrals to states where abortion access is more readily available. Furthermore, states with more restrictive abortion laws often have higher maternal and infant mortality rates, compared to their less restrictive counterparts. Given the role of social workers in providing comprehensive care, particularly in health and social services, their attitudes can affect the quality of support offered to clients facing reproductive health decisions. However, very few Schools or Colleges of Social Work formally educate students on this topic. This study aims to understand current social work student attitudes about abortion, students' perceived knowledge about abortion, and factors associated with their attitudes towards abortion rights.

Methods: A Qualtrics survey was disseminated online using purposive, convenience, and snowball sampling strategies. The survey was posted in canvas course announcements, sent via email to students by program directors, and shared in class by instructors at the home institution. Program directors were emailed directly from various Universities in all fifty states. Finally, a link to the survey with messaging was shared in a social work student Facebook group by a social work student member of the group. Students were eligible to participate in the survey if they were enrolled in a social work program at any level (BSW, MSW, DSW/PhD), could participate in an English only survey, and were 18 years of age or older. No incentives were provided. Data collection occurred from November 18, 2024 through March 5, 2025.

Findings: The sample consists of 375 students from across the U.S., with 54% MSW, 30% BSW, 12% DSW, and 3% PhD students. Gender identity data showed that 87.5% identified as female, 6.1% male, 5.3% non-binary, and 1.1% transgender, genderqueer, or two-spirit. A majority (72.3%) supported the legality of abortion under all circumstances, and 58% disagreed that late-term abortion should be illegal in all cases. About 61.5% felt they had adequate knowledge of abortion policies, while 63.3% felt confident in assisting clients seeking abortion information. Half (52.9%) felt they had sufficient knowledge of abortion as a medical procedure. Regression analysis was conducted. Findings indicate that level of education and parenting status have no statistically significant effect on abortion attitudes, while geographic regions (urban, non-urban) do statistically predict anti-choice attitudes F (1,369) = 25.60, P < .001.

Discussion:This study builds on prior research regarding social work student attitudes toward abortion. Notably, previous studies occurred before abortion rights were overturned in Dobbs v. Jackson, sending abortion rights back to the individual states. Understanding students attitudes toward abortion is critical given the current political context and the social work code of ethics to support clients' right to self-determination. These findings can inform programs of social work on potential training and education in reproductive health.