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The purpose of this study is to explore and understand the social barriers women face in seeking and obtaining quality safe abortion care, as a means to generate evidence that could be used to improve access to and quality of abortion services.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Thirty-two focus group discussions with both men and women were held in four different regions of Ethiopia: Addis Ababa; Amhara; Oromia; and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples\u2019 Region. The study team recruited participants (n\u2009=\u2009193) aged 18\u201355 in each region using a purposive sample with snowball recruitment techniques. We conducted discussions in Amharic or Afaan Oromo using a semi-structured guide and transcribed and translated them into English for analysis. We used deductive coding and analysis to categorize findings into emergent themes around stigma, barriers, and the changing nature of attitudes around abortion.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Despite changes in abortion law, findings show that women with unwanted pregnancies and those seeking abortions are still heavily stigmatized and sanctioned in a number of communities across Ethiopia. Abortion was deemed unacceptable in most cases, though respondents were more tolerant in cases of risk to the mother\u2019s life and of rape. We saw promising indications that changes are taking place in Ethiopian society\u2019s view of abortion, and several participants indicated progress toward a more supportive environment overall for women seeking abortion care. Still, this progress may be limited by variable knowledge of abortion laws and tightly held gender-based social norms, particularly in rural areas. Most participants noted the importance of education and outreach to improve abortion attitudes and norms.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Policymakers should create further awareness in Ethiopia on the availability of quality abortion services in public health facilities and the indications for legal abortion. Such efforts should be based on principles of gender equality, as a means of ensuring enduring changes for women\u2019s reproductive choice throughout the country.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12978-021-01240-6","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,13]],"date-time":"2022-06-13T18:04:21Z","timestamp":1655143461000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Signs of a turning tide in social norms and attitudes toward abortion in Ethiopia: Findings from a qualitative study in four regions"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Kathryn A.","family":"O\u2019Connell","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Addisalem T.","family":"Kebede","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bereket M.","family":"Menna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mengistu T.","family":"Woldetensay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sara E.","family":"Fischer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ghazaleh","family":"Samandari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jemal K.","family":"Kassaw","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"1240_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Singh S, Remez L, Sedgh G, Kwok L, Onda T. 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Risks and benefits of the study were explained to the study participants in such a way that participating in the study was purely voluntary and will have no effect on their access to the benefits of existing or future programs. Verbal, informed consent was obtained from study participants after the data collectors described the purpose of the study.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare that they have no competing interests.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"198"}}