The Pro-Life Majorities

Public opinion polls have been a part of the abortion debate from the beginning, but not until 1989 did the media begin reporting a crucial fact about the public's attitude on abortion: the overwhelming majority of Americans oppose all but a tiny percentage of the 1.5 million abortions performed annually. Take your pick: abortion as a means of birth control, abortions for social or economic reasons, abortions without the father's knowledge, abortions on minors without their parent's involvement, abortions without the woman's informed consent, abortions paid for by the government--the majority of the public opposes all of these, some by 3 to 1 margins. Futhermore, the majority also does not want abortion coverage to be included in any national health insurance plan. The following are excerpts from several national polls which show that Americans strongly support pro-life legislation restricting abortion.

say abortion for women who want it should not be "covered as a part of a basic health plan" [Under the Clinton health care reform proposals] (25% say abortions should be paid directly by the woman who wants it)
CBS/New York Times, June 1993

do not agree that the "federal government should pay for abortion for any woman who wants it and cannot afford to pay." (27% agree) ABC News/ Washington Post, July 1992

oppose abortion used as a form of birth control. (13% in favor) Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1989

favor requiring that minors obtain the consent of one parent before having an abortion (23% oppose) Times Mirror, May 8, 1992

mostly favor legislation "requiring women to receive information about fetal development and alternatives to abortion before going ahead with the procedure.(9% mostly oppose) Gallup, February 28, 1991

favor requiring doctors to counsel on alternatives to abortion.(16% oppose) USA Today/CNN, Gallup, June 30, 1992
[Ed. note: Despite poll results such as these, because fewer doctors are willing to do or even be trained to do abortions, the abortion industry is moving toward having doctors even less involved in a woman's abortion decision than they are now. In early 1994, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists endorsed training non-physicians to perform abortions.]

oppose federal funding of research using tissue from aborted human fetuses. Wirthlin, January 22, 1992

believe abortion should be illegal "if the woman could not afford to care for the baby." Washington Post, October 7, 1989

would support a legal right for a father to prevent the abortion of his unborn child. Clements Research/Parade Magazine, May 1992

underestimated by more than 500,000 the number of abortions performed annually in the United States. U.S. Catholic Conference Release, November 1990
[Ed. note: Approximately 1.5 million abortions are done every year; a total of 31.5 million abortions between 1973 and 1993.]

favor requiring a woman to notify her husband before she has an abortion. Clements Research/Parade Magazine, May 1992

believe abortion should be prohibited in all circumstances (9%), legal only to save the mother's life(11%), or legal only in the cases of rape, incest or to save the mother's life(33%). (27% believe abortion should be legal for any reason, but not after the first three months of pregnancy; 5% believe it should be legal, but not after the first six months; and only 9% believe abortion should be legal at any time during pregnancy for any reason. Wirthlin, November 1994.

think that the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision "that abortions should be allowed for any reason' should be changed. Wirthlin, January 22, 1992

believe abortion should be illegal "if a family decides they don't want another child." Washington Post, October 7, 1989

were not aware that Roe v. Wade made abortion legal throughout the full nine months of pregnancy. Gallup, February 28, 1991

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