By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
A new Pew survey showing a marked uptick in the nation's antiabortion sentiment means trouble for a pro-abortion-rights president, right? Well, it certainly could. But as I explain in my latest U.S. News Weekly God & Country column, the survey also suggests that Obama has a major opportunity to reassure Americans who are anxious about his abortion position.
Here's the crux:
While supporters of legal abortion outnumbered abortion rights opponents by 54 percent to 40 percent as recently as last year, the new survey finds that Americans are now evenly split on the issue. Most Democrats now say they'd like to reduce the number of abortions, while conservatives have grown even more intensely antiabortion. "This is a really unusual shift," says Gregory Smith, a senior Pew researcher who helped author the survey report, released last week. "I'm struck by the large number of groups that have moved on the issue: men and women, whites and Hispanics, those with college degrees and those with none. It's a broad movement."
And it presents a challenge for Obama and his party. The Pew survey suggests that the country is growing nervous that Democrats will overreach on abortion rights. The debate raging over abortion coverage in healthcare reform is an example of how the issue can threaten Obama's broader agenda. But the report also points to an opportunity for the White House to allay the fears of moderates and some abortion foes by delivering on his promise to find common ground on the issue. "Folks are worried about progressive political leaders sweeping the concerns of pro-life people under the rug," says Rachel Laser, who works on culture war issues for Third Way, a Democratic-aligned think tank. "It's essential that the Democrats capture their trust."
Read the full piece here.
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