Polls indicate majority of Americans are pro-life

Washington D.C., Sep 25, 2005 / 22:00 pm

A series of recent polls over the last two years indicates that a majority of United States residents identify themselves as pro-life, support restrictions on abortion and do not support abortion on demand. Half of U.S. residents said they believe abortion is morally wrong.

In an International Communications Research Poll, conducted in May 2005, 52 percent of respondents said they opposed abortion and 36 percent were in favor. Twelve percent said they didn’t know.

Woman Trend conducted a poll in April 2005 and found that 62 percent of respondents fell into the pro-life category: 17 percent said abortion should never be legal; 14 percent said abortion should be legal only when the life of the mother is in danger; 31 percent said abortion should be legal only when the mother’s life is in danger or in cases of rape or incest.

The same study found that only 35 percent of Americans were pro-choice. Of these, only 10 percent said abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during a woman’s pregnancy. The remaining believed restrictions—either after three months or six months—should be imposed.

In a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, conducted during the same period, 47 percent of people identified themselves as “more pro-life” and 44 percent identified themselves as “more pro-choice.”

A Wirthlin Worldwide post-election poll in November 2004 got even higher results, with 55 percent of respondents identifying themselves as pro-life and only 40 percent saying they were pro-choice.

A two-year study by Princeton Research Associates found that only 17 percent of Americans thought abortion should be generally available to those who want it. Fifty-one percent said it should only be allowed in cases of rape or incest, if the life of the woman is endangered, or not at all. Thirty percent of Americans believed there should be stricter limits on abortion.

And when Gallup asked 1,000 American adults in May 2004 whether abortion is morally acceptable or wrong regardless of whether it should be legal, 50 percent said it was morally wrong; 40 percent said it was morally acceptable. Eight percent said it depends on the situation.

Since Roe vs. Wade became law 32 years ago, there have been more than 43 million abortions in the U.S.