Background: Abortion policy varies significantly between Northern Ireland and Norway. This is the first study to compare medical students’ attitudes towards abortion in two different countries. Objective: To assess medical students’ attitudes to abortion at the University of Oslo (UiO) and Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). Design: An anonymous questionnaire completed by 59 medical students at UiO and 86 medical students at QUB. Participants: Students who had completed their obstetrics and gynaecology placements during 2006/2007. Results: The students’ responses (UiO versus QUB) were as follows: response rate, 95.2% vs 92.5%; stated no religious affiliation, 48.0% vs 4.7%; pro-abortion, 78.2% vs 14.3% (χ2 = 58.160, p2 = 73.183, p2 = 6.143, p = 0.150); in favour of providing abortion on the mother’s request, 86.4% vs 9.3% (χ2 = 42.067, pConclusion: There were significant differences in students’ attitudes to abortion, reflecting differences in religious, legal and educational experiences.