Gallup Poll: Most Americans Call Themselves 'Pro-Life'

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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,..

Steve S. Roisman of CA 12:23AM May 18, 2009

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.

Lin Bradley of WA 6:24PM May 17, 2009

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.

jimatmadison of WI 11:58PM May 16, 2009

Who did they poll anyway? I'm starting to think that Gallup has lost a lot of credibility, I would really like to know more about their population sample.

srichey of CA 9:25PM May 16, 2009

This is THE non-story of non-stories.
Two thirds of Americans are pro-life.
Two thirds of Americans are pro-choice.
Same as it has been for at least 40 years.
It depends on how you ask the question.
Has anything changed there? No.

jimatmadison of WI 2:22PM May 16, 2009

See fivethirtyeight.com for a good review of the polls - pokes holes in the polls validity

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laida shake of AZ 10:17AM May 16, 2009

just as slavery became less and less accepted, so shall the murder of babies.
Partial birth abortions were surely the darkest of our atrocities.
I know it's not very "zen", but I'd wish at times, those doctors that performed such things, had a portion of their brains sucked out of their head through a tube in their nose. Not to kill them.. just leave them much less than they were.. Then you could get off on an assault charge, because you didn't actually "murder" them either.

Matthew J. of AK 4:52AM May 16, 2009

The Gallup article makes it clear that the shift from pro-choice to pro-life has happened almost entirely among republicans and republican leaning independents. They then explain the change as a reaction to Obama's extreme stance on abortion. Looks like Gallup slept through the most interesting presidential election in modern times and forgot about Sarah Palin. Her decision not to have an abortion despite having a down syndrome baby was very inspirational to a large number of people and widely reported and surely had more to do with changing popular opinion than obamas positions.

Loredawg of TX 1:33AM May 16, 2009

The source of the shift in abortion views is clear in the Gallup Values and Beliefs survey. The percentage of Republicans (including independents who lean Republican) calling themselves "pro-life" rose by 10 points over the past year, from 60% to 70%
The problem is the poll is junk since it's over survey people who id themselves as republicans or republican leaning and since republican and republican leaning is now pretty much the hard right of course the poll would be screwed this way any poll that has more that mid 20's republicans id is junk

me of pa of PA 3:09PM May 15, 2009