By Tim Waggoner
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Despite President Barack Obama’s strong promotion of abortion in his first 100 days as president, a new study has revealed an overall increase in the number of Americans believing abortion should be illegal in most cases.
The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press was conducted from March 31-April 21, among 1,521 adults.
The survey found that the overall support for legal abortion dropped from 54% last August to 46% this month, with the number of people supporting the illegalization of abortion rising 3% to 44%.
The slide in abortion support is due mainly to a change in the persuasion of men, with the percentage of males believing abortion should be legal falling 10% to 43% and the proportion feeling it should be illegal rising 4% to 46%.
The greatest change among religious groups was found among white mainline Protestants, with 54% believing abortion should be legal, compared with 69% in August. Only 23% of Evangelical Protestants thought abortion should be legal, making them the most pro-life religious group.
Support for abortion also declined by 24% among moderate and liberal Republicans. The Center reported that 67% of liberal and moderate Republicans said abortion should be legal in August 2008. In this month’s survey, that number had fallen to only 43%.
Support for abortion declined by 11% among independents. The Center reported 55% of independents said abortion should be legal in August 2008. In this month’s survey, that number had fallen to 44%.
See the full Pew Research report here:
https://pewresearch.org/pubs/1212/abortion-gun-control-opinion-gender-gap