NEW YORK, April 29, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new poll released last week by Zogby International reveals that a majority of Americans think there should be tighter restrictions on abortion. The poll, conducted April 15-17, found 56 percent of Americans were in favor of a change in legislation on abortion—from being completely illegal, to conditionally legal for cases of rape, incest, or in cases when a pregnant mother’s life is in jeopardy. Of the 56 percent polled who feel tighter restrictions should be imposed on abortion, 18 percent said it should never be legal, 15 percent said it should be legal only when the life of the mother is in danger, and 23 percent said it should be allowed if the mother’s life is in danger, or in cases of rape or incest. In defense of U.S. President George W. Bush’s partial-birth abortion ban, the poll revealed that only 13 percent feel that abortion should be legal at any time during a mother’s pregnancy. Some analysts suggest that abortion could be a deciding issue in the upcoming presidential election. Among 18 to 29 year-olds, the difference was even larger—60 percent in this age category are in favor of a change to abortion legislation. This age group makes up a decided minority of voters, however, as at least 17 million of them have been killed by abortion since Roe v. Wade. Hispanic Americans polled revealed that 78 percent were in favor of tighter restrictions, while African Americans are 62 percent in favor of more stringent legislation. If a fetal heart-beat is present, which typically occurs at 18 to 21 days gestation, before most women even realize they are pregnant, 61 percent of Americans said they would be against ending the life of the unborn baby. Sixty-five percent, meanwhile, felt that abortion should not be permitted once brain-waves are measurable in the unborn; this phenomenon is usually present by eight weeks.
Fully 74 percent of Americans are against taxpayer funding of abortion.
Scientists have revealed, and the partial-birth abortion ban trial testimony has confirmed, that babies in the womb feel pain. When asked if women should be told that their unborn baby will feel pain if aborted after 20 weeks, 77 percent said yes. Zogby International surveyed 1,209 people. The margin of error is +/- 2.8 percent.
View the Zogby International PDF of the results at: https://www.nrlc.org/zogby%20april%202004%20%20PPT%20slides.pdf