> Last time I looked, something like 75% of the
>American public felt that women should have the right to an abortion.
It's a little more complicated than that. Gallup has a page tracking the abortion issue over time at <http://www.gallup.com/congressandpub/issues/abortion.htm>. Note the erosion of support over the last few years. Also, when people who answer "certain circumstances" are probed about what those circs are, they give all kinds of answers, ranging from any to none.
Doug
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ABORTION ISSUES
Do you think abortions should be legal under any circumstances, legal only under certain circumstances, or illegal in all circumstances?
legal under legal under illegal in no
any circs certain circs all circs opinion
98 Jan 16-18 23 59 17 1 97 Nov 6-9 26 55 17 2 97 Aug 12-13 22 61 15 2 96 Sep 20-22 24 52 17 7 96 Jul 25-28 25 58 15 2 95 Sep 22-25 31 54 12 3 95 Feb 24-26 33 50 15 2 94 Sep 6-7 33 52 13 2 94 Mar 28-30 31 51 15 3 93 Mar 12-14 32 51 13 4 92 Jul 23-24(#) 34 48 15 3 92 Jun 29 34 48 13 5 92 Jan 16-19 31 53 14 2 91 Sep 5-8 33 49 14 4 91 May 30-Jun 2 32 50 17 1 90 Sep 5-8 31 53 12 4 89 Jul 6-9 29 51 17 3 89 Jul 6-7(#) 29 51 17 3 89 Apr 12-13 (#) 27 50 18 5 88 Sep 25-Oct 1 24 57 17 2 85 Jan 3-4(#) 21 55 21 2 83 Jun 24-27 23 58 16 2 81 May 8-11 23 52 21 4 80 Jul 11-14 25 53 18 4 79 Feb 23-26 22 54 19 5 77 Dec 9-12 22 55 19 4 75 Apr 4-7 21 54 22 3 (#) Gallup/Newsweek
IF CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES: Do you think abortions should be legal under most circumstances or only in a few circumstances?
legal under legal under legal in a illegal in
any circs most circs few circs all circs no opinion 98 Jan 16-18 23 16 42 17 2 97 Nov 6-9 26 15 40 17 2 97 Aug 12-13 22 12 48 15 3 96 Jul 25-28 25 13 43 15 4 95 Sep 22-24 31 14 39 12 4 95 Feb 24-26 32 9 41 15 3 94 Sep 6-7 33 13 38 13 3
With respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro-choice or pro-life?
don't know mixed/
Pro-choice Pro-life what terms both/ no
mean neither opinion 98 Jan 16-18 48 45 2 3 2 97 Nov 6-9 51 40 3 3 * 97 Aug 12-13 47 44 3 3 3 96 Jul 25-28 53 36 3 5 3 96 Jul 18-21 48 40 4 5 3 96 Mar 15-17 56 37 2 3 2 95 Sep 22-24 56 33 3 5 3 * Less than 0.5%
Some people say that abortion is an act of murder, while other people disagree with this. What is your view -- do you think abortion is an act of murder or don't you feel this way?
Yes, murder No, not murder No opinion 98 Jan 16-18 48 45 7 95 Jan 40 51 9 94 Aug 43 47 10
If you could vote on this issue directly, would you vote for or against the following: a law which would make it illegal to perform a specific abortion procedure conducted in the last six months of pregnancy know as a "partial birth abortion," except in cases necessary to save the life of the mother?
Favor making Oppose making No
it illegal it illegal opinion 98 Jan 16-18 61 36 3 97 Mar 55 40 5 96 Apr 57 39 4