GALLUP SAYS U.S. ABORTION STATUS QUO REPRESENTS ONLY 25% OF AMERICANS

PRINCETON, July 24, 2002 (LSN.ca) – A slight majority of Americans are philosophically “pro-choice,” according to polls by the Gallup organization. But the vast majority consistently say that abortion should be legal “only under certain circumstances.”  Gallup’s polling consistently reveals that from 51% to 54% of Americans believe abortion should be “Legal only under certain circumstances”—while just 25% to 27% says it should be “Legal under any circumstances” and 18% to 22% that it should be “Illegal in all circumstances.” Furthermore, these breakdowns in opinion have largely prevailed since the 1970s.  What that means, of course, is that status-quo abortion on demand does not reflect the beliefs of 75% of Americans, and that since the 1970s, the view of only 25% of Americans has been imposed as law by activist court judges and abortion supporting politicians.  In addition, 86% of Americans support restrictions on abortion in the third trimester, and 69% in the second trimester. 62% support restrictions when a woman says she “can’t afford” the baby; and 51% would support restrictions on abortion of fetuses diagnosed as mentally handicapped. (Even though the pollster did *not* mention that these diagnoses are frequently wrong.)  Most Americans also support informed consent, “requiring doctors to inform patients about alternatives to abortion before performing the procedure.” Only 11% were opposed. Similarly, a Gallup survey in 1996 found 74% in favor of parental consent for minors seeking an abortion.  For these and other original data and graphs from Gallup see:  https://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr020724.asp