Gallup Poll: Most Americans Call Themselves 'Pro-Life'
By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
A new Gallup Poll finds that most Americans are identifying themselves as "pro-life" for the first time since the firm starting asking the question in 1995. Fifty-one percent of Americans now call themselves "pro-life" on abortion, compared with 42 percent who consider themselves "pro-choice."
That's a major change from a year ago, when 50 percent of Americans called themselves pro-choice and 44 percent said they were pro-life.
This graph illustrates the dramatic shift:
The poll finds that while support is about even for the extreme abortion positions—23 percent of Americans believe abortion should always be illegal, and 23 percent say it should always be legal—most take a more nuanced stance. Fifty-three percent say abortion should be legal in certain circumstances.
Drilling down further, however, Gallup finds that 60 percent think abortion should be illegal in all circumstances or legal in only a few circumstances. Just 37 percent want abortion legal in all or most circumstances.
What explains the spike in the number of pro-life Americans? Gallup says it's a reaction to the Obama era:
With the first pro-choice president in eight years already making changes to the nation's policies on funding abortion overseas, expressing his support for the Freedom of Choice Act, and moving toward rescinding federal job protections for medical workers who refuse to participate in abortion procedures, Americans—and, in particular, Republicans—seem to be taking a step back from the pro-choice position. However, the retreat is evident among political moderates as well as conservatives.
It is possible that, through his abortion policies, Obama has pushed the public's understanding of what it means to be "pro-choice" slightly to the left, politically. While Democrats may support that, as they generally support everything Obama is doing as president, it may be driving others in the opposite direction.
The clear shift in public opinion puts more pressure on President Obama to make good on abortion reduction—and will make it more difficult to rescind Bush-ordered "conscience" protections for healthcare workers.
- Read more by Dan Gilgoff.
- Read more about abortion.
Tags: abortion | religion | polls
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Reader Comments
Polls and puplic relations
Believing "PollS" as though they were the ultimate insight into what the public is thinking is a bit of a joke and just another device to manipulate the publics opinion.....My view on this subject is that in a democracy a woman and her pregnancy is nobodys business except herself and her partner....it is not the function of theologians to impose their views on anyone unless the the matter is of a criminal or anti social nature.....the stupid theory that terminating a pregnancy is committing murder is nonsense because an embryo is not a living individual and these social tyrants should please get off the backs of the women who have social problems....Cordially,..
Polls are they even necessary? M
Which way is the wind blowing? That's how Clinton used polls. Sort of glad the current gang in the Big House doesn't really seeming to pay much attention. What they DO need to pay attention to is that WE the American people dislike socialism crammed down our throats and ANY likeness of it in our culture. Now that is a poll that could use some media coverage. NOT that AB poll again! It is clear the way Americans feel about killing our children. Why does that need to be revisited?? MOST people don't like murder, if you ask them in the right way. So, let's get on with the right questions. Do we want Socialized Medicine, Answer, NO! Do we want to lose our GOD given freedoms? answer, NO! Do we want to lost our right to bar arms? answer, NO! Do we want the government to raise our children? answer, NO NO NO NO! Do we want higher taxes? answer, NO! Well here is a poll that is needing to be taken. It's just that they aren't asking the real question cuz they don't want to hear from us. The Dems are just going along with the Elite bunch in DC and giving away OUR farm. What to do? Well, take a REAL poll and find out! OR.... ask God what HE thinks about it all and get a true answer.
Gallup
Posters questioning the poll's validity are right on target. Fivethirtyeight has a nice piece on them and pollster.com has one on party identification that shows just how out of whack Gallup's results are.
Gallup hasn't quite sunk to Zogby levels, but they really do need to get their stuff together.
I know it's expecting a lot, but it would be very useful if 'news' outlets would report on the reliability of the pollster rather than just parroting the numbers whether they mean anything or not.
Of course, the purpose of 'news' these days isn't to inform the public, it's to inflame in order to garner ratings.
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