"New Set of Priorities" Includes
Lesser Diminishing Support for Abortion

By Dave Andrusko

A pro-abortion feminist organization headed by former Planned Parenthood President Faye Wattleton has produced a report that strongly indicates a continuing decline in support among women for abortion. Produced by the Center for the Advancement of Women and released in late June, the report is entitled "Progress and Perils: New Agenda for Women."

"While we do have a certain point of view on women's issues, we don't believe we should suppress information," Mrs. Wattleton told the Washington Times. "[E]ven if we hold our noses at it, we want to be sure we show women's true perspective."

The center found "alarming news," Wattleton writes in the report's executive summary: "There is significant and growing support for severe restrictions on abortion rights." (emphasis added.)

The center used Princeton Survey Research Associates, which over a two-year period conducted what Wattleton modestly described as "a groundbreaking survey of over 3,300 women." (As will become clear below, it's important to know that the survey was conducted in two parts. In the time frame December 9, 2000-January 21, 2001, 2,329 women were surveyed. Another 1,000 women were interviewed between December 17, 2002 and January 2, 2003.)

This aforementioned "alarming news" takes two forms. The first is that "fewer than half" (actually far fewer - - 41%) said keeping abortion legal is a "top priority."

In fact, only "increasing the number of girls who participate in organized sports" ranked lower.

The percentages for keeping abortion legal not only represented a drop of 8% in just two years, it was the largest drop of any of the issues offered as choices to respondents. This prompted Wattleton to lament, "Preserving reproductive rights, core to every woman's liberty, is far down on the list of women's priorities."

But there was another example of diminishing support for abortion that probably hit even harder.

Only 30% said they believed abortion "should be generally available to those who want it," down from 34% in 2001 when the first round of women were interviewed. By contrast the percentage who said abortion "should not be permitted at all" climbed from 14% to 17%.

But perhaps the most discouraging news for the center - - which was actually highlighted in the report - - was that 34% said abortion "should be against the law except in case of rape, incest, and to save the woman's life." This is significant both for the size of this group and because adding the words "against the law" guaranteed that a lower percentage of respondents would agree.

Combined, 51% said abortion should not be permitted at all only in cases of rape, incest, and to save the woman's life. Yet this figure likely far underestimates the real percentage.

What makes comparisons with other polling data tricky is that the center added a category that asked women if "abortion should be available but under stricter limits than it is now." According to the survey, 17% agreed with that position.

If we were to add those who said abortion should be available under stricter limits (17%), only in cases of rape, incest, and to save the woman's life (34%), to those who would not permit abortion at all (17%), we see that 68% either want abortion legal under the most limited of circumstances (or not at all) and/or want "stricter limits."

Although this was not stated specifically, something else bears watching. These declines in support for abortion took place in the time from when women were first asked by Princeton Survey Research Associates for their opinions and when women were asked two years later.

In other words, the Center for the Advancement of Women's own surveys documented the continuing meltdown in woman's support for abortion.

Wattleton writes in her executive summary, "Having fought on the front end of the women's movement of the '70s and '80s, I've considered a number of questions for some time." One of those questions is, "Is my brand of feminism relevant to my daughter's generation?"

One wonders, deep down, what conclusion she drew.