Americans’ beliefs about abortion are complicated. Pro-abortionists are hailing recent polling that finds that 60% of American do not want Roe v. Wade overturned. But a study that breaks down the specifics of what Americans believe about abortion finds that a big majority of Americans in every demographic want abortion to be strictly limited. Only 18% believe in the unlimited right to abortion that “pro-choicers” are promoting.
According to a Hill.TV/HarrisX poll, only 14% of Americans believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances. But 41% believe that abortion should be legal only in limited circumstances, such as rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother. That means a majority of 55% believe abortion should be restricted.
Those who believe that abortion should be legal in “most circumstances” until the point of viability, defined as the last trimester, constitute 27% of Americans. That would mean that 82% of Americans are opposed to late-term and “partial birth” abortions.
Only 18% believe that abortion should be legal “under all circumstances.”
These total numbers are consistent, with only minor variations, with the percentages in all demographics: for women and men; older and younger adults; education and income. Republicans want either no abortion or limited abortion at a rate of 71%, with 44% of Democrats holding that view. But even Democrats are more conflicted over the issue than we would be led to believe.
Read Michael J. News’ discussion of this study at National Review. He comments,
These polling results are very useful to the pro-life movement, especially since many recent polls give the incorrect impression that majorities of Americans support expansive abortion rights. Pro-lifers would do well to publicize this new Hill.TV/HarrisX poll, which shows that most Americans favor some protections for the unborn and that pro-life policies poll well across a range of age groups.
Photo by James McNellis from Washington, DC, United States (I Am the Pro-Life Generation) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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