At least as an orphan there’s some oversight.

“Abusive” can mean anything from occasional shouting, to locked in a closet and starved.

If as an orphan I end up placed with some fundamentalist Christian family, that would be worse than occasionally being yelled at, but better than being locked in a closet.

So, it comes down to what the person imagines “abusive” being.

People who are orphans generally don’t understand the experience of abusive parents.

People with abusive parents generally don’t understand the experience of being an orphan.

People with their own problems generally don’t understand the experience of other people’s situations as a mere observer, and cannot properly evaluate the two comparatively.

Probably not, no

My parents aren’t neglectful, but they are emotionally and religiously (and slightly physically) abusive, but if I was an orphan would I get taken in by a better legal guardian, or just live in in an institution/on the streets?

I had abusive and neglectful parents and I wished I was an orphan as a kid. After having met people who grew up in the system, I’m pretty sure I was better off. The system can be way worse than my parents were at their respective worst and my parents were way better than the system at their respective best. My therapist says I have a bit of a complex for downplaying my experiences though, so maybe I don’t know.

My turn, starve or poisoned?

It depends. Abandonment has a floor to how bad it’s gonna get. You die. Abuse has no floor, because they keep you alive.

Different circumstances, different outcomes. I have a complicated relationship with my parents, but that doesn’t mean I want to be an orphan. If I were an orphan, I would be having a different opinion.