News

Thursday July 22, 2010


Poll: More than Half of Americans Favor Abortion Restrictions

By Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Over half of U.S. adults say they would favor some form of abortion restrictions, according to a new poll by Angus-Reid Public Opinion.

Forty-six percent of respondents said they believe abortion should be legal “only under certain circumstances,” while an additional 15% said that abortion should be illegal regardless of the circumstances.

However, a solid 30% of respondents said they believe abortion should be completely legal. This marks a 3% increase from an Angus Reid poll taken in January, although it falls within the July poll’s 3.1% margin of error.

At least 9% said they were “unsure” about what should be done with abortion.

The poll was collected from online interviews with 1,002 U.S. adults between July 8-9, 2010.

Recent polls have found that America appears to be trending pro-life. Earlier in May, a Gallup-commissioned poll found for the third consecutive time that more Americans identified themselves as “pro-life” rather than “pro-choice,” leading the pollster to conclude that “pro-life” had become the “new normal” on the question of abortion.

In that survey, 47% of Americans identified themselves as “pro-life,” while 45% said they were “pro-choice.” Last May, the divide was 51% to 42% in favor of “pro-life.”

Another survey published in January 2010 and commissioned by the Knights of Columbus found that the post-baby boom generation showed a clear pro-life trend. Approximately 58% of adults (18-29), the “Millennial” generation, said they considered abortion to be “morally wrong.” Sixty percent of Gen-Xers (ages 30-44), the generation immediately after the Baby Boom generation, also saw abortion as “morally wrong.”

In contrast, amongst the Boomers (ages 45-64) just over a majority (51%) said abortion is “morally wrong.”

That survey was compiled from online interviews conducted by Knowledge Networks, Inc. of 2,243 Americans from December 23, 2009 through January 4, 2010. The poll has an overall margin of error of +/-2% and for Millennials it is +/-3%.


See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:

Gallup: Pro-Life the “New Normal” on Abortion in U.S.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/may/10051803.html

Poll: Support Growing for Overturning Roe

https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/may/10050507.html

Majority of Americans, and Nearly 6 in 10 Young Adults, View Abortion as Morally Wrong: Poll

https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10012206.html

75% of Canadians Say “Abortion is Morally Wrong”: Poll

https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10031605.html