“We believe this is the perfect moment in the wake of the Gonzales v. Carhart partial-birth abortion decision, and while the abortion issue is center stage in the presidential campaign to implement a comprehensive national education campaign about Roe.”
In order to prepare for the upcoming educational effort, the research firm Ayres, McHenry & Associates was hired to conduct a national survey of registered voters on abortion issues.
The aim of the survey was to determine if further education on the implications of Roe v. Wade would change people’s minds. Here is how it proceeded, “The survey first asked participants whether they would like the Supreme Court to overturn its Roe v. Wade ruling. It then asked them whether they believed that abortion should be legal or illegal in each of twelve circumstances. The surveyor then briefly informed the participants (1) that Roe prohibits states from restricting abortion during the first six months of pregnancy in any of those circumstances, and (2) that if Roe were overturned states could make abortion policies that would permit abortion for some reasons and bar it for others. Participants were then asked again whether they would like the Supreme Court to overturn Roe.”
Some substantial changes were also noted when those being surveyed were informed about how Roe functions in practice. “With even this brief education about what Roe really means, public opinion on overturning Roe swung a full 16 points in the direction favoring the reversal of Roe: from 55 to 34 percent against overturning Roe to 48 to 43 percent against. In the face of more than three decades of media misrepresentation about what Roe means and what overturning it would mean, this swing is very striking.”
