CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- A U.S. pro-life leader says a new study showing alleged support for legalized abortion among Americans is in fact exaggerated and unclear.<\/p>\n\tKristan Hawkins, executive director of Students for Life of America, told CNA that she was \u201coutraged\u201d by the \u201chorrible\u201d wording in the survey, which led to misleading results about the views of Americans.<\/p>\n
\tOn Jan. 16, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a report about American attitudes on abortion after 40 years of its legalization throughout the country.<\/p>\n
\tThe report claimed that 63 percent of Americans do not want to see the Supreme Court completely overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationally.<\/p>\n
\tHowever, the study has drawn criticism for its wording. Before being asked about whether the decision should be reversed, survey participants were told, \u201cIn 1973 the Roe versus Wade decision established a woman\u2019s constitutional right to an abortion, at least in the first three months of pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHawkins explained that the question fails to acknowledge Doe v. Bolton, which was decided by the Supreme Court alongside the Roe case and effectively legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy.<\/p>\n
\tThis wording, Hawkins said, certainly skewed the results of the survey from showing people\u2019s complete views, as other studies have shown that \u201cthe vast majority of people\u201d are opposed to abortion in the second and third trimester, even if they accept it in the first trimester.<\/p>\n
\tIn addition, she observed, the Pew survey asked people whether they would like to see the court \u201ccompletely overturn\u201d its Roe v. Wade decision or not.<\/p>\n
\tShe explained that giving only these two options fails to recognize the reality \u2013 shown time and again by other studies \u2013 that the majority of the country is in the \u201cmushy middle,\u201d somewhere between favoring a complete ban of abortion and completely accepting it.<\/p>\n
\tWhile the Pew survey found that the majority of Americans did not want Roe v. Wade to be \u201ccompletely\u201d overturned, it also revealed that a plurality \u2013 47 percent \u2013 believe that abortion is morally wrong, compared to just 13 percent who think it is morally acceptable.<\/p>\n
\tThis means that many people believe that abortion is morally wrong but do not think that Roe v. Wade should be overturned, Hawkins observed.<\/p>\n
\tShe attributed this discrepancy to a general culture of relativism in which people are taught that there is no objective right or wrong and that they should not judge the actions of anyone else.<\/p>\n
\tShe noted that when asked about the morality of abortion, respondents could say that they believed it to be morally acceptable or morally wrong, but they were also given a third option of saying that they did not believe abortion was a moral issue. Twenty-seven percent chose this response.<\/p>\n
\tHawkins said that this option does not make sense, because an action is either morally acceptable or it is not.<\/p>\n
\tShe added that she would be interested to see if those people actually thought that abortion was immoral but did not want to acknowledge it because they thought that doing so would come across as judgmental.<\/p>\n
\tThis fear of seeming judgmental is advanced by abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood, which promote the message that no individual can reject the actions of another as objectively wrong, even if those actions kill a child, she explained.<\/p>\n
\tIn addition, she said, men have been told that \u201cthey can\u2019t have an opinion about abortion,\u201d even though they can lose a child through one.<\/p>\n
\tThe pro-life movement must respond to this cultural relativism and fear of seeming judgmental by fearlessly proclaiming the truth, speaking out about how abortion hurts women and is never a good solution, she said.<\/p>\n
\tOne finding from the Pew poll that did not surprise Hawkins was the significant level of ignorance surrounding Roe v. Wade, particularly among young people. Of those under 30 years old, only 44 percent knew that the case dealt with abortion.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThere is a wide gap of knowledge when it comes to abortion in the United States,\u201d Hawkins explained.<\/p>\n
\tShe pointed to a study released by Students for Life last summer in which 48 percent of respondents did not know whether Planned Parenthood performed abortions.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cPeople do not know what abortion law is,\u201d she continued. \u201cThey just don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAt the same time, Hawkins said, human beings instinctively \u201cknow there\u2019s something wrong with abortion.\u201d She observed that women often cry as they enter and exit abortion clinics, and abortion is treated as an emotional and intense decision.<\/p>\n
\tIn addition, she said, even a three-year-old child will point to an ultrasound picture and identify the unborn child as a \u201cbaby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBut despite this natural inclination that abortion is wrong, she acknowledged that it is also unpleasant and many people \u201cblock it out of their minds,\u201d choosing not to think about it. For this reason, education is critically important, she said.<\/p>\n
\tExperience working on college campuses has shown Hawkins that if she can get a conversation started with the students, they are open to the truth about abortion.<\/p>\n
\tThey key, she explained, is getting the students to \u201cengage in a dialogue with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tGiven a clear presentation on the scientific facts and laws regarding abortion, they are often convinced of the truth in the pro-life position, she said, adding that these students talk to their friends, and that is when \u201chearts and minds change on college campuses.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Washington D.C., Jan 17, 2013 \/ 05:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- A U.S. pro-life leader says a new study showing alleged support for legalized abortion among Americans is in fact exaggerated and unclear.<\/p>\n
\tKristan Hawkins, executive director of Students for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\n
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