Most Americans Oppose Most Abortion

By David N. O'Steen, Ph.D., Executive Director

Editor's Note: An abbreviated version of the following appeared in USA Today on January 22.

Some have argued that the majority of Americans want abortions to be as widely available as they are today--as long as they are restricted in some ways. That's inaccurate. What most people really want is to prevent the vast majority of abortions.

It is true that there is substantial majority support for the types of regulations that will be debated in Congress and state legislatures this year. These include banning partial-birth abortion, enforcing laws requiring parental involvement before a minor daughter's abortion, and providing women sufficient information to make an informed decision before an abortion.

That, however, is not the end of the story. A majority also oppose the core effect of the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision and recent national polling confirms it.

The effect of Roe has been abortion for any reason--even as a method of birth control--on healthy babies with healthy mothers, who became pregnant through consensual relations. Such abortions account for over 90% of those performed annually. A majority believe this should not be allowed.

A nationwide Zogby poll last November found that 61% thought abortion should never be allowed or allowed only in cases of rape, incest, or to protect the mother's life. Only 36% thought abortion should be allowed for other reasons or always.

This was followed by a nationwide Wirthlin poll last December in which 62% felt that abortion should never be legal or legal only in cases of rape, incest, or to protect the mother's life. Only 35% thought abortion should be always legal, and almost two-thirds of these, 22%, would limit it to the first three months of pregnancy.

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released January 15 further showed a majority--60%--who thought abortion should be legal only in a "few" circumstances or never, while only 38% thought abortion should be legal in "most" circumstances or always.

Each of these three national polls tested about 1,000 people with a margin of error of about 3%. They all say essentially the same thing with almost identical numbers. Namely, a substantial majority of Americans would not allow the vast majority of abortions.

A January ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted by TNS Intersearch found apparently contradictory results with 57% saying abortion should be illegal to end an "unwanted pregnancy" if "the woman is unmarried and does not want the baby," but 57% also saying abortion should be legal in all or most "cases." This indicates that a significant percentage of those polled do not realize that abortion is done in most "cases" only because the pregnancy was "unwanted."

Recent polls have also shown a shift of opinion towards the pro-life position.

In the January Gallup poll cited above, 24% thought abortion should be legal under any circumstance. This was down from 31% who told Gallup this in 1992.

The November Zogby poll found that 22% said they were less in favor of abortion than they were 10 years ago, while only 11% were more in favor of it. Fifteen percent were much less in favor of abortion and only 5% much more in favor.

The Zogby poll also asked respondents what they would do if a pregnant friend or relative wanted to get an abortion. Fully 67% said they would tell her abortion is wrong or advise her against it. Nine percent would offer no advice and only 19% would advise for abortion "if she thinks it's right."

While these numbers show the work that remains for pro-lifers, they also offer much good news--especially for unborn babies.