From the President's Desk
Wanda Franz, Ph.D.
PUBLIC OPINION 30 YEARS AFTER ROE v. WADE
The first step in securing the constitutional protection of the right to life is a realistic assessment of the situation we face. Since we must persuade a majority of our fellow citizens to accept our goal, public opinion polls are an important tool in this assessment. Let's be clear here: the point is not to have our values shaped by opinion polls, but to use them to develop strategies of education and persuasion so that the majority accepts pro-life principles and acts on them.
So where do we stand after over 43 million legal abortions, 30 years of Roe v. Wade, and over 30 years of pro-life work? (In this review I am relying mainly on special reports authored by Lydia Saad of the Gallup Organization and polls by Gallup, the Los Angeles Times, and Newsweek.)
According to the latest Gallup poll, 23% say abortion should be "legal under any circumstances," 15% want it "legal under most circumstances," 42% want to restrict it to "legal only in a few circumstances," and 19% want it to be "illegal in all circumstances." In 1975, the numbers for "always legal" and "always illegal" were at 21% and 22%, respectively. From there the "always legal" segment rose to 33% by 1995. Then, as Lydia Saad noted, coinciding with our campaign to ban partial-birth abortions, support for the "always legal" position began to deteriorate. For the last several years, only about 25% have adhered to the strict pro-abortion position and about 20% have supported the strict pro-life position.
A differently phrased poll (Los Angeles Times, June 2000) had these results: 43% for "always legal," 46% for "illegal, except for rape, incest, or to save the mother's life," and 8% for "illegal without any exceptions." On election day 2000, the numbers had shifted in the pro-abortion direction: 50%, 38%, and 12%, respectively (Los Angeles Times, November 7, 2000). The shift is in part explained by an unusually heavy representation of California voters in the sample. By March 2001, the numbers had moved back to 42%, 41%, and 12%, respectively. According to these polls, anywhere from 50% to 54% want to make abortion either altogether illegal or restrict it to cases of rape, incest, and to save the mother's life.
Most abortions (88%) are performed in the first trimester (New York Times Almanac 2003). And only 4% of abortions are done for reasons of (1) the woman's health (3%) or (2) pregnancy caused by rape or incest (1%), according to data available on the web site of the pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute.
Given these facts, what are the polling results with regard to abortion by trimester and reasons for abortion?
Most respondents (66%) favor abortion being legal in the first trimester, 29% are opposed. After that there is strong opposition: For the second trimester the numbers are 25% legal vs. 68% illegal, and for the third trimester the numbers are 10% legal vs. 84% illegal (Gallup, January 2003).
But while a majority favors the legality of abortion during the first trimester, a majority (56% vs. 41%) also wants to make abortion illegal during the first trimester "when a woman does not want the child for any reason" (Gallup, May 2003). Opposition to such abortions rises to 74% vs. 24% for the third trimester. Thus, there is only minority support for the legality of the most common abortions at any stage of the pregnancy.
The lack of majority support for the legality of most abortions is evident from averages compiled from various polls since 1996 (Lydia Saad, Gallup January 2002): "Would force a teenager to drop out of school"--42% support, "Woman/family can't afford a baby"--39%, "Woman/family want no more children"--39%, "Couple does not want to marry"--35%, "Would interfere with woman's career"--25%.
Contrary to the pro-abortionists' assertion that the public is solidly "pro-choice," the country is split into two about equal-sized camps of self-described pro-lifers and "pro-choicers." Gallup (May 2003) lists 45% as pro-life and 48% as pro-choice. In 1995, before our campaign to ban partial-birth abortions began, the figures were 33%
and 56%, respectively. We have gained ground since then. A recent Newsweek poll (May 2003) puts the numbers as 48% pro-life and 47% pro-choice, with women being more pro-life than men (50% vs. 48%). These self-assigned labels, however, do not necessarily mean what one might think:
Twenty-seven percent of the "pro-choicers" think that abortion should be legal in only a few cases, while 3% would make it illegal in all cases. Conversely, 4% and 5% of the supposedly "pro-lifers" think that abortion should be legal in all cases or most cases, respectively.
In part, this confusion arises from the Supreme Court's unjustified assertion that abortion is a constitutional right. And when one of the major parties (the Democratic Party) shares and vigorously defends this assertion, the confusion can only be heightened: An astonishing majority of 53% declares "Roe v. Wade a good thing for the country" (Gallup, January 2003), but an equal majority of 53% says that abortion is "morally wrong" (Gallup, May 2003).
Other inconsistencies arise from the deference to the Supreme Court's "wisdom" (if it's legal, it must be OK), the fear of being "judgmental," and the mistaken notion that one's personal beliefs must never become public policy. For example, 66% would not consider abortion an option for themselves or their partners, but 68% agree that "no matter how I feel about abortion, I believe it is a decision to be made by a woman and her doctor." At the same time, 57% (61% of women) also say "abortion is murder." (Los Angeles Times, June 2000)
We are far from having won the battle. But just think what all the numbers would be if we hadn't succeeded in defeating the "Freedom of Choice Act" that would have made abortion a federal right. Or had not fought for the ban of partial-birth abortions. Or had not reminded people that what is legal is not necessarily moral. Our opponents fear our work because we are moving the public in the pro-life direction. Join us and make them worry!