The legalisation of divorce would not make it easier for abortion to be legalised, according to 47 per cent of people who answered a survey commissioned by Gift of Life, an organisation that campaigns against abortion.

Another 36 per cent held the opposite view, feeling the introduction of divorce would pave the way for abortion and 17 per cent did not know.

Gift of Life stressed it had not taken an official stand on divorce but it asked this question to better understand the public’s opinion about a possible association.

The survey involved a nationally representative sample of 500 and was carried out by Informa Consultants.

It found that 87 per cent of the local population were against legalising abortion, down by just one per cent from last year. The figure for 2008 was 84.5 per cent. The other 13 per cent of survey respondents agreed with its legalisation although nine per cent of these agreed it should be legalised only in some cases.

Of those who agree that abortion should be legalised or that it should be legalised only in some cases, about half cited rape as a reason.

Women remain the most likely to disagree with the legalisation of abortion, with 93 per cent of women falling in this bracket, compared to 77 per cent of men.