[lbo-talk] Stricter Limits on Abortion (Americans want Roe v Wade upheld)

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com, [lbo-talk] Americans want Roe v 
Wade upheld, Mon Nov 29 06:53:05 PST 2004:
>[good thing people voted for Bush!]
>
>Poll: Americans Want Roe V. Wade Upheld
>By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
>
>WASHINGTON - A majority of Americans say President Bush (news - web 
>sites)'s next choice for an opening on the Supreme Court should be 
>willing to uphold the landmark court decision protecting abortion 
>rights, an Associated Press poll found.
>
>The poll found that 59 percent say Bush should choose a nominee who 
>would uphold the 1973 Roe v. Wade (news - web sites) decision that 
>legalized abortion. About three in 10, 31 percent, said they want a 
>nominee who would overturn the decision, according to the poll 
>conducted for the AP by Ipsos-Public Affairs.
<snip>
>While the public is generally divided on the abortion issue, polling 
>consistently has found a clear majority of people who think abortion 
>should be legal in at least some cases.

The key words here are "legal in at least some cases."

For instance, in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll, 44% of 
respondents say that "abortion should be available, but under 
stricter limits than it is now," a larger group than 34% who say that 
abortion should be "generally available" (CBS News/New York Times 
Poll, Nov. 18-21, 2004, <http://pollingreport.com/abortion.htm>).  In 
2003, the proportions were in reverse: 39% thought that abortion 
should be generally available, and 38% wanted to put it under 
stricter limits (CBS News/New York Times Poll, Nov. 18-21, 2004, 
<http://pollingreport.com/abortion.htm>).

Americans know that the Republican Party won't overturn Roe v. Wade, 
but a plurality of them would like stricter limits on abortion than 
there are now, so it makes sense for the plurality in favor of 
stricter limits, as well as anti-abortion abolitionists, to vote for 
Bush.

Americans who think that abortion should be generally available and 
yet campaign for the Democratic Party on the grounds that it protects 
Roe v. Wade that the Republican Party attacks are defending the 
Maginot Line, unable to muster forces to confront the Republicans' 
and some Democrats' actual line of attack.  What we need to fight 
against is stricter limits on abortion, not the frontal assault on 
Roe v. Wade.

Cf. 
<http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/pipermail/lbo-talk/Week-of-Mon-20041115/026807.html>
-- 
Yoshie

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