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Survey: Abortion Support Falls 8 Percent
By JOHN P. CONNOLLY, The Bulletin
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center shows that the number of people who support legalized abortion has fallen by 8 percent.
According to the survey, 46 percent of people polled were in favor of legalized abortion, a drop from 54 percent last August.
The survey, conducted from March 31 to April 21 and sampling 1,521 adults, showed that 43 percent of men and 49 percent of women thought that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Those numbers decreased from when the same question asked in August 2008, where 53 percent of men and 54 percent of women said abortion should be legal in most cases.
While 42 percent of both men and women said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases in August, the number of men opposed to legal abortion rose to 46 percent. The number of women opposed to abortion remained at 42 percent in the recent poll.
“There has been notable decline in the proportion of independents saying abortion should be legal in most or all cases; majorities of independents favored legal abortion in August and the two October surveys, but just 44 percent do so today,” said the survey report. “In addition, the proportion of moderate and liberal Republicans saying abortion should be legal declined between August and late October — from 67 percent to 57 percent. In the current survey, just 43 percent of moderate and liberal Republicans say abortion should legal in most or all cases.”
When broken down by religion, mainline Protestants showed a 15 percent decrease in abortion support since August, dropping to 54 percent from 69 percent support. The 33 percent support for abortion from evangelical Protestants fell by 10 percent to 23 percent. Among non-Hispanic Catholics, 49 percent favored abortion, down from 51 percent in August and 55 percent in October.
John P. Connolly can be reached at jconnolly@thebulletin.us
According to the survey, 46 percent of people polled were in favor of legalized abortion, a drop from 54 percent last August.
The survey, conducted from March 31 to April 21 and sampling 1,521 adults, showed that 43 percent of men and 49 percent of women thought that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Those numbers decreased from when the same question asked in August 2008, where 53 percent of men and 54 percent of women said abortion should be legal in most cases.
While 42 percent of both men and women said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases in August, the number of men opposed to legal abortion rose to 46 percent. The number of women opposed to abortion remained at 42 percent in the recent poll.
“There has been notable decline in the proportion of independents saying abortion should be legal in most or all cases; majorities of independents favored legal abortion in August and the two October surveys, but just 44 percent do so today,” said the survey report. “In addition, the proportion of moderate and liberal Republicans saying abortion should be legal declined between August and late October — from 67 percent to 57 percent. In the current survey, just 43 percent of moderate and liberal Republicans say abortion should legal in most or all cases.”
When broken down by religion, mainline Protestants showed a 15 percent decrease in abortion support since August, dropping to 54 percent from 69 percent support. The 33 percent support for abortion from evangelical Protestants fell by 10 percent to 23 percent. Among non-Hispanic Catholics, 49 percent favored abortion, down from 51 percent in August and 55 percent in October.
John P. Connolly can be reached at jconnolly@thebulletin.us
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