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NPR Poll: 59% of Americans Say Having an Abortion is Wrong
Life News ^ | 6/3/11 | Steven Ertelt

Posted on 06/04/2011 12:02:25 PM PDT by GonzoII

NPR Poll: 59% of Americans Say Having an Abortion is Wrong

by Steven Ertelt | LifeNews.com | 6/3/11 10:47 AM

A new poll conducted by Thomson Reuters for NPR, coming after a Gallup survey showing Americans oppose all or most abortions, finds a majority of Americans say having an abortion is wrong.

NPR asked “do you personally believe having an abortion is wrong” and 59.3 percent of Americans polled said yes compared with just 40.7 percent who said no. The youngest age category of those polled, under 35, gave the most pro-life responses with 65.5 percent saying that having an abortion is wrong.

The results compare with a new Gallup survey released earlier this week showing 51 percent of Americans say abortion is “morally wrong,” compared with just 39 percent who say abortion is morally acceptable.

The NPR survey also asked respondents Do you think abortion should be legal in all cases; legal in most cases; illegal in most cases; or illegal in all cases. The results of that question showed 52 percent of Americans took a pro-abortion position saying they (20.2%) want abortions legal in all cases or (31.7%) legal in most cases. On the pro-life side, 48 percent want all (19.2%) or most (28%) abortions illegal.

Looking at that question further, those under the age of 35 gave the most pro-life response again with 57 percent saying they wanted all or almost all abortions made illegal.

The NPR poll did not specific when most abortions are done and with some Americans wrongly believing that a good percentage are done in cases of rape or incest, some respondents likely indicated they wanted abortions legal in most cases when they actually oppose most abortions since 98% of abortions are done for birth control reasons.

The NPR survey also asked, “Would you like to see abortion laws in this country made…more strict; less strict; remain the same?” The survey found 45.9% wanted the laws more strict while 54.1 percent wanted the laws to stay the same. The results make it clear that some Americans believe abortion laws are more strict than they are currently — as the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision made it so abortion is essentially available at any point in pregnancy for any reason. As was the case with other questions, those under 35 gave the most pro-life response — with 54.6 percent wanting to make abortion laws more strict.

NPR’s survey of 3,013 adults, which was conducted in early March, also asked a question about public funding of abortions in health insurance plans and 58% said they opposed public funding of abortions while 42 percent said they supported it.

In the new Gallup poll the NPR survey follows, by a 24 percent margin, 61-37 percent, Americans take the pro-life view that abortions should either be legal under no circumstances or legal only under a few circumstances. Although Gallup doesn’t specify those “few” circumstances, polling data has consistently shown that, when asked about cases such as rape, incest, or the life of the mother, a majority of Americans want all or almost all abortions made illegal — leaving only life of the mother or rape and incest as the exceptions.

As is the case with most national surveys, a majority of Americans all say abortion is “morally wrong” — something the Gallup poll has shown since 2001.

“Just over half of Americans, 51%, believe abortion is “morally wrong,” while 39% say it is “morally acceptable.” Americans’ views on this have been fairly steady since 2002, except for 2006, when they were evenly divided,” the Gallup poll indicated.



TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: abortion; moralabsolutes; polls; prolife

The trend continues..

1 posted on 06/04/2011 12:02:29 PM PDT by GonzoII
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To: GonzoII

The amazing thing is that NPR reported it.


2 posted on 06/04/2011 12:03:15 PM PDT by La Lydia
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To: La Lydia
The amazing thing is that NPR reported it.

Exactly. The issue of right-wrong is what drives this whole movement. There are millions of terribly troubled women who haven't come to terms with the fact that they killed their own baby. For those who refuse to face the guilt head-on, the only way to cope is to have society tell them what they did was a right, a choice, and perfectly acceptable. Just watch. This poll is going to send the more hysterical of them completely over the edge.

3 posted on 06/04/2011 12:09:49 PM PDT by ElkGroveDan (My tagline is in the shop.)
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To: La Lydia

I think that they’re terrified of losing their funding.


4 posted on 06/04/2011 12:10:11 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: La Lydia
The amazing thing is that NPR reported it

They're scared. To them it's a call to the troops: come out and riot so we can continue the slaughter.

But the numbers against abortion will continue upwards, as the hateful, anti-child murderers who advocate it abort themselves out of existence.

5 posted on 06/04/2011 12:11:09 PM PDT by Regulator (Watch Out! Americans are on the March! America Forever, Mexico Never!)
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To: GonzoII

It’s great news that young people are becoming more pro life. Hopefully that trend will continue, and the American public at large will eventually become more pro life.


6 posted on 06/04/2011 12:18:12 PM PDT by Brett11
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To: Brett11

Amen.


7 posted on 06/04/2011 12:21:42 PM PDT by GonzoII (Quia tu es, Deus, fortitudo mea...Quare tristis es anima mea?)
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To: GonzoII

I’ll never forget the young father who stood and talked to another sidewalk counselor as we worked outside the abortion mill. He said, “Yeah, I know it’s murder. Everyone knows it’s murder.”


8 posted on 06/04/2011 12:26:29 PM PDT by Faith
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To: Brett11

“... it’s great news that young people are becoming more pro life”

I truly wonder if people are changing their minds as a result of sonograms. Use to be that people were told it was a “mass of tissue” and accepted that premise. To be able to see a tiny baby, a heart beat etc... certainly changes on mind. Either way, this post has restored my hope.


9 posted on 06/04/2011 12:30:13 PM PDT by momtothree
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To: Regulator

Yes. NPR is a full-fledge participant in and a card-carrying member of the Culture of Death.


10 posted on 06/04/2011 12:31:09 PM PDT by La Lydia
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To: GonzoII
Two top priority things Palin must do when she wins (not if - too horrific to imagine if she doesn't).

1) She must at every opportunity, select judges that will uphold the U.S. Constitution and overrule unconstitutional precedent if necessary.

2) She must go to the states and tell them that they should nullify Roe v. Wade because the decision was unconstitutional. The states in turn must vote state-by-state to nullify and ban abortion within its borders.

Following will be calls for impeachment, but if there's enough half-brained people with any kind of integrity in Congress who didn't lie when they took the oath preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, she won't be impeached or removed.

Is it worth the risk of removal? What do you think? What are over 50 million slaughtered unborn babies worth? God will not always sit idly by while this slaughter of the innocents continues.

11 posted on 06/04/2011 12:36:59 PM PDT by PapaNew
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To: GonzoII
NPR’s survey of 3,013 adults,

They polled adults. I wonder what the real number is.

12 posted on 06/04/2011 12:42:24 PM PDT by MAexile (Bats left, votes right)
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To: Brett11
Young people I know are increasingly prolife because they see the hypocrisy of the proabortion crowds and their use of lies. Young people are not angels or geniuses but they don't like their elders to lie to them; and the "prochoice" movement is, from its name onward, a pack of lies.
13 posted on 06/04/2011 2:39:16 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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