> The following info about Catholic views on abortion, Catholic voting behaviors, etc. is taken from the website of Catholics for a Free Choice.
>
> Catholics say abortion should be legal
>
> * A full 82% of US Catholics say abortion should be legal either under certain circumstances or without restrictions. * This is close to the figure for all Americans: 87%.
> * Among Catholics, 39% say a woman should be able to get an abortion if she decides she wants one, no matter what the reason.
> * Another 43% say abortion should be legal under certain circumstances, such as when a woman's health is endangered or when a pregnancy results from rape.
> * Only 15% of Catholics agree with the bishops' position that abortion should be illegal in all circumstances.
>
Splendid. You and others are upholding the position of the 39 percent, not the 82 percent. Big difference.
> Time/CNN nationwide poll of 1,000 adults, conducted by Yankelovich Partners, Sept. 27-28, 1995, MOE +/-3%; subsample of 500 Catholics, MOE +/-4.5%.
>
> This finding holds true across polls and over time
>
> * 73% of self-described "progressive" Catholics say abortion should be generally available or available with restrictions. * 43% of self-described "traditional" Catholics say abortion should be generally available or available with restrictions. * Only 10% of Catholics (and 10% of all Americans) agree with the bishops' position that abortion should be illegal in all cases.
Here you do not include the size group who supports the viewyou hold to be exclusively the moral one.
> . . .
> * In 1990, 85% of Catholics (and 90% of all Americans) said abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances. * 51% of Catholics, like 57% of all Americans, said choices on abortion should be left up to the woman and her doctor. * Only 12% of Catholics took the bishops' position that abortion should always be illegal.
>
Here you've got 51 percent, still well short of 85 percent.It's the 34 percent who are in play, folks.
> . . .
> * 64% of Catholics, like 68% of all adults, disapprove or strongly disapprove of the statement that abortion is morally wrong in every case.
>
People can look negatively at behavior but also decline to elevate theirview to a moral declaration.
> * 69% of Catholics believe a woman who has an abortion for reasons other than to save her life can still be a good Catholic.
>
You can do anything and still be a good Catholic, long as you make proper confession, no?
> . . .
> * Every winning presidential candidate since 1976 has carried a majority or plurality of Catholic voters: 54% for Carter in 1976; a 50% plurality for Reagan in 1980; 54% for Reagan in 1984; 52% for Bush in 1988; and a 44% plurality for Clinton in 1992.
>
Dig it.
> . . .
> Abortion is not a litmus test -- but Catholics vote prochoice
>
> * Only 9% of US Catholics feel so strongly about abortion that they would not vote for a political candidate who disagreed with their opinion, regardless of the candidate's stand on other issues. * This compares to 12% of all Americans.
>
This supports your argument and tends to debunk mineif you think 9 or 12 percent is "small." But the difference in many elections is often less than 9 percent.
> . . .
> * 66% of Catholics say President Clinton's April 1996 veto of the bill to ban a late-term abortion method will make no difference in their choice between Clinton and Bob Dole in the presidential election -- or will make them more likely to vote for Clinton. * Just after Clinton vetoed the late-term abortion bill, Catholics preferred Clinton over Dole by 58% to 33%.
>
100 - 66 = 34.
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Thanks for the stats and references.
Regards,
MBS