[This is an interesting tack. Normally if you ask people their position on abortion, the answers are ambiguous and overlapping and discouraging. Here, when they ask about what side they identify with -- pro-life or pro-choice -- and whether Roe v. Wade should be overturned -- the real point at issue -- the results seem surprisingly stark and encouraging]
http://www.tcf.org/list.asp?type=NC&pubid=1134#prochoice
Public Opinion Watch
November 9, 2005
Ruy Teixeira, The Century Foundation, 11/9/2005
<snip>
It's Definitely a Pro-Choice, Pro-Roe v. Wade Country
Lest we harbor any doubt about that, as debate on the Alito Supreme
Court nomination heats up, consider these data.
1. In a SurveyUSA fifty-state poll, 56 percent nationwide described
themselves as pro-choice, compared to 38 percent who said they were
pro-life.
http://www.surveyusa.com/50State2005/50StateAbortion0805SortedbyProLife.htm
Only thirteen states were pro-life; the rest were
pro-choice and include Pennsylvania (+7), Michigan (+13), Montana
(+11), Ohio (+10), Iowa (+15), Arizona (+17), Minnesota (+17), New
Mexico (+17), Wisconsin (+18), Florida (+22), Colorado (+27),
Oregon (+29) and Nevada (+32).
2. In a recent Gallup poll, the public, by 53 percent to 37
percent, said the Senate should not confirm Alito if it was likely
he would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.
3. The Pew poll cited above asked two slightly versions of a
question on whether Roe v. Wade should be overturned. The replies
averaged 61 percent to 29 percent against overturning Roe v. Wade.
4. In Washington Post/ABC News poll cited above, 64 percent said
that, if a case testing Roe v. Wade came before the Supreme Court,
the Court should vote to uphold it, compared to just 31 percent who
believe the Court should vote to overturn it.
Pretty clear data. We'll see if the message gets through.
Ruy Teixeira is a Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation and the
Center for American Progress. The views expressed in this article are
solely those of the author. Click here to sign up to receive weekly
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Copyright 2005 The Century Foundation.