Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Nationwide Poll Shows 84% of Americans Favor Significant Restrictions on Abortion

From the Knights of Columbus:
A new nationwide poll shows that 35 years after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v. Wade, public support for the court’s unrestricted access to abortion throughout an entire pregnancy stands at just 8 percent.

The poll was conducted for the Knights of Columbus by the Marist College Institute of Public Opinion between Sept. 24 and Oct. 3, 2008, and was designed to enable comparisons of the views of Catholic voters with those of the general electorate.

The poll asked respondents to state which of six statements came closest to describing their opinion on abortion.

• 8 percent of U.S. residents chose option 1, that abortion should be available to a woman any time she wants one during her entire pregnancy;

• 8 percent chose option 2, that abortion should be allowed only during the first 6 months of pregnancy;

• 24 percent chose option 3, that abortion should be allowed only during the first 3 months of pregnancy;

• 32 percent chose option 4, that abortion should be allowed only in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother;

• 15 percent chose option 5, that abortion should be allowed only to save the life of the mother; and

• 13 percent chose option 6, that abortion should never be permitted under any circumstance.

The poll also revealed that only 15 percent of those describing themselves as “pro-choice” favored unrestricted abortion throughout a pregnancy. 71 percent of pro-choice respondents said they would restrict significantly restrict abortions. Of these 43 percent would restrict abortion to the first trimester and 23 percent would restrict abortion only to cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson described the poll results as “indicative of the fact that the term ‘pro-choice’ – when applied broadly – needlessly polarizes the discussion of abortion and masks the fact that there is broad consensus among Americans that abortion should be significantly restricted.”

Poll Appendix
See also A Beneath-the-Surface Look at Catholic Voters
A just-completed nationwide poll provides new insights into America’s Catholic voters, highlighting the ways in which they differ from the electorate as a whole. But the survey also examines in detail the ways in which the 65 percent of Catholics who practice their faith regularly differ from the 35 percent who do not.

***
Some of the most dramatic differences are found within the community of Catholic voters. 59 percent of practicing Catholics are pro-life, while 65 percent of non-practicing Catholics are pro-choice. Non-practicing Catholics are far more likely to be pro-choice than the population at large (65 percent vs. 50 percent). Only 30 percent of US residents favor same-sex marriage, while 46 percent of non-practicing Catholics do. 75 percent of practicing Catholics oppose same-sex marriage...
(emphasis added)

Headline Bistro Story: "Poll Finds Consensus Over Abortion, Draws Distinctions Among Catholics"

Labels: , , ,

2 Comments:

At 10/14/2008 8:54 PM, Blogger . Eric . said...

The numbers that reflect the non-practicing Catholics are really sad.

 
At 10/14/2008 8:58 PM, Blogger Pro Ecclesia said...

Yep.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

hit counter for blogger