The Growing Majority

Pro-Life or Pro-Choice?

The American people have awakened to what it means to be “pro-choice.” A 2009 Gallup poll revealed that 51% now label themselves “pro-life.”

In their analysis, Gallup proposed that the shift could be due to President Obama’s overreach on the issue. They posited: “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.”

These polling results confirm a trend: Americans are increasingly in favor of protecting human life. They see through the hollow PR-generated “pro-choice” label, thanks in part to sonograms and real-life experience. President Obama and the pro-abortion majority in Congress are on a collision course with public opinion on abortion policy.

Pro-life Across Political Ideologies    

Across all political ideologies, the percentage of people identifying themselves as “pro-life” has risen. Since 2001, Gallup has polled those identifying themselves as conservative, moderate, and liberal on whether or not they identify as pro-life. In 2009, a record number of conservatives (71%) and moderates (45%) called themselves “pro-life.”  Almost one-fifth of liberals (19%) also said they were pro-life.

Again Gallup explains these significant numbers and the effect President Obama has had on them, saying “The source of the latest shift in abortion views -- between 2008 and 2009 -- is clear. The percentage of Republicans (including independents who lean Republican) who call themselves ‘pro-life’ has risen by nearly 10 points over the past year, from 60% to 68% -- perhaps a reaction to the ‘pro-choice’ presidency of Barack Obama -- while there has been essentially no change in the views of Democrats and those leaning Democratic.”

Limiting Abortion

An April 2010 poll by CBS and The New York Times found that the majority of Americans fully support additional restrictions and limitations on abortions, including parental consent requirements and longer waiting periods before abortion. Even those who self-identify as “pro-choice” seem to adhere to the mentality of “safe, legal, and rare,” which suggests that even those who support abortion rights understand that it is not simply a matter of “choice.”

These results show that, despite its legality instituted over 30 years ago, abortion is not an accepted and expected occurrence and that reservation is growing across all demographics.

Source: CBS/NY Times Poll April 2010

The pro-life trend is growing particularly among younger Americans. In Gallup’s 2009 poll, 18% of those surveyed said any abortion ought to be illegal. This position was most popular among18-29 year olds—the pro-life Army is young and ready to lead the charge.

More Than “Choice”: The Morality of Abortion

Despite abortion’s legality, the majority of Americans (52%) believe that abortion is morally unacceptable.  According to a study by the Pew Research Center in 2009, this 52% includes even a portion of those who identify themselves as “pro-choice”: those who are personally opposed to abortion but unwilling to take away a woman’s “right to choose.”

America is a nation that highly values privacy and freedom. Many Americans who claim to be personally opposed to abortion cite these values as justification for stepping aside while women make the choice of abortion. It is up to the next generation of pro-life leaders to continue to work to expel the myth that abortion is simply a personal choice made between a woman and her doctor—the child in the womb is there too.

Source: Pew Research Center Aug. 2009

Abortion is Not Health Care

A December 2009 Quinnipiac survey found that 72% of Americans opposed funding abortions through any federally run health plan. Americans may want better health care, but not at the expense of promoting abortion. Opposition to abortion funding includes 74% of political independents, the swing vote that determines U.S. election outcomes.

With the knowledge that the majority of Americans are pro-life and opposed to taxpayer funding of abortion, in the spring of 2010—the pinnacle of the health care debate—the SBA List commissioned further polling to prove it. Conducted by the the polling companyTM, inc./WomanTrend, polling throughout the districts of twenty of the self-identified “pro-life” Democrats found that across the board, constituents opposed taxpayer funding of abortion. Constituents were also asked if they would vote to re-elect their representative if they voted for a health care bill that included federal funding of abortion. In most cases, the majority of voters responded with an overwhelming “no.”

Full polling results are available here.