News

TORONTO, Ontario, October 13, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Over 60% of Ontarians oppose the status quo of taxpayer-funded abortion, says a new Abacus Data poll.

The poll, commissioned by Campaign Life Coalition, LifeSiteNews.com, and The Interim, found that 40 percent of respondents think abortion should be available but only funded in medical emergencies, while 11 percent think abortion should be available but never funded, and 10 percent do not think abortion should be available at all.

In contrast, 30 percent think abortion should be available and always funded. Another 8 percent said none of those positions match their view.

“The poll supports the common-sense view that taxpayers should not be paying for the lifestyle choices people make,” said Alissa Golob, Director of Campaign Life Coalition Youth, which is organizing a Defund Abortion Rally at Queen’s Park on October 22. “Many physicians have reiterated the fact that no medical or health benefit exists in an elective surgery such as abortion, which is evidence enough not to fund a procedure whereby the (medical necessity) is highly contested.”

The poll also found that the majority of Ontario’s Christians oppose taxpayer funding of abortions, but those identifying as Catholic are virtually indistinguishable from the public at large in their views on abortion.

Fifty-three percent of Evangelicals said they did not agree with abortion at all, and only 7 percent said it should be funded in all cases.  On the other hand, only 14 percent of Catholics said they totally opposed abortion, and 22 percent think it should be fully funded.

“This poll should be a wake-up call for Catholics across the province,” said Suresh Dominic of Campaign Life Catholics. “To advocate for the protection of the unborn is a fundamental teaching of the Catholic Church, and to see so many who identify themselves as Catholic think otherwise, is very discouraging.”

Regardless of faith group, religious faith played a significant role in shaping one’s view on abortion. About 85 percent of respondents who view religion as very important oppose the status quo. Interestingly, even 43 percent of those who view religion as very unimportant oppose it as well.

Fourty-eight percent of respondents indicated that they want all abortion information—statistics about the number of abortions and how much they cost—to be publicly disclosed, while just 21 percent do not think these figures need to be released.  A further 30 percent said they had no opinion on the subject.

A whopping 91 percent of respondents had no idea that the province spends at least $30 million on abortion every year.  CLC says this is tied to the fact that Ontario does not release these numbers.

“The abortion industry does not want Ontarians to know that abortion is the most common surgery in Canada. People would be shocked if they knew how many abortions are committed in Canada,” said Golob.

“The poll results show that a clear majority opposes the status quo of taxpayer funding for all abortions, proving that politicians should not be afraid to address abortion defunding, said Jim Hughes, President of Campaign Life Coalition.

“What politician or political party will have the guts to stand up for taxpayers and accountability to resist paying for the personal choice to destroy an unborn human being?”

The online poll, was conducted by Abacus Data from October 3rd to 4th, surveyed 1,015 randomly selected adults from an online panel of Ontarians. Although there is no margin of error for non-probability sampling, a sample of 1,015 has a margin of error comparable to +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

Find the full report on the poll here.