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Support for Abortion in Sharp Decline [Zogby : 52% favor abortion, down from 68% a decade ago]
Zogby.com ^ | Jan 23, 2006 | Zogby Poll

Posted on 01/25/2006 9:37:14 AM PST by summer

As the nation marks the 33rd anniversary of the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade that established abortion rights across America, a slight majority believes abortion should be always be available, or should be available without government financing, a new Zogby Interactive poll shows.

The survey shows that 52% favor abortion, including 10% who saying they believe it should be available, but that the government should not pay for it.

Forty-three percent oppose abortion, though most of those believe there should be exceptions in the cases of rape, incest, or when the pregnancy posed a grave threat to the life of the mother. A total of 9% said they “always oppose” abortion.

Among women, 50% said they favored the availability of abortion in all cases, while another 8% said they favor its availability but do not want the government to pay for it. Thirty-eight percent of women said they opposed abortion outright, or with certain exceptions. Among men, 59% said they oppose abortion completely or with certain exceptions, while 35% said they favor it always. Another 12% said they favor it but do not want the government to pay for it.

“What’s striking to me is that the numbers were radically different ten years ago,” said John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International. “Ten years ago, maybe just seven or eight years ago, pro-choice forces were in the ascendancy and posted pro-choice numbers in the area of 65% to 68%.”

They still represent a majority, but just barely, the survey shows.

The Zogby survey highlights a dramatic partisan split on the question. While 74% of Democrats said they favor abortion the availability of in all circumstances, just 9% of Republicans feel the same way. And while 78% of Republicans oppose abortion either completely or with some exceptions, only 17% of Democrats agree.

Among independents, 45% said they always favor the right to an abortion.

Among Republicans, 77% said that “abortion destroys a human life and is manslaughter,” while 13% disagreed with that statement. Among Democrats, 15% believe that abortion destroys a human life and is manslaughter, and 70% disagreed.

The poll comes as the U.S. Senate is preparing to vote soon on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Judge Alito, nominated last year by President Bush to take the seat now occupied by moderate Sandra Day O’Connor, is considered a conservative that could change the balance on the court on this issue and others.

The partisan divide over abortion is most dramatic when considering whether parents should be notified before a daughter’s abortion. While 88% of Republicans agree parents should know ahead of time, just 26% of Democrats agree. One in every two independents say parents should be told ahead of time.

The national split extends to the question about late-term abortion. One-third opposes late-term abortions except when the mother’s life is in danger; one-third opposes the procedure except when the overall health of the mother is at risk, and 20% said they opposed late-term abortions in all circumstances. Another 11% said they did not agree with any of those circumstances.

The Zogby Interactive survey was conducted Jan. 20-23, and included 5,640 interviews. The margin of error for the poll is +/-1.3 percentage points.

(1/23/2006)


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2006; abortion; poll; zogby
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To: jwalsh07

That's a great picture. I remember reading about the surgeon holding the hand out for the picture. That was the spina bifida surgery at Vanderbilt, right?


141 posted on 01/25/2006 12:29:25 PM PST by linda_22003
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To: Flavius Josephus
"Sporting religious vestments and waving shocking pictures of the products of aborted fetuses..." AFP Yesterday

Few and far between but shocking? Absolutely. Repulsive? Definitely. The Truth? Undeniably.

142 posted on 01/25/2006 12:30:29 PM PST by jwalsh07
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To: linda_22003

Yup, that's Sam. :-}


143 posted on 01/25/2006 12:31:44 PM PST by jwalsh07
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To: linda_22003
It begins when pregnancy begins (whether that is when sperm meets egg, or when implantation occurs),

Two wholly different things. Implantation occurs after fertilization (when sperm meets egg). In the early '70s, the AMA changed the definition of the beginning of human life from fertilization to implantation in order that the pill would not be categorized as an abortifacient.

I do not believe that the life of a ten-minute old blastocyst is as fully realized and has the moral equivalence of the fully-grown woman it is inside.

Is the blastocyst alive? Yes. Is it a human being? Yes. Then the blastocyst is a living human being. Why then should one living human being have less moral standing than another?

144 posted on 01/25/2006 12:31:52 PM PST by Aquinasfan (Isaiah 22:22, Rev 3:7, Mat 16:19)
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To: jwalsh07

I do research for a living, and I never accept AFP as a sole source; I always look for corroboration on any of its stories, whatever the topic. A large grain of salt is indicated on the tone of most of its stories alone.


145 posted on 01/25/2006 12:32:37 PM PST by linda_22003
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To: Diddle E. Squat

"Well yes, in response to an antagonistic post #42. And I made it clear in my post both how rare the "endangerment of the mother" cases are and that the pro-abortion types try to stretch that into a huge loophole."

Well...It's up to you if you choose to believe I was being antagonistic. For the record, I was simply making a sarcastic comment by posting what I did-and it wasn't directed at you. Either way, it sounds like we're on the same side of this issue, SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM, HERE?


146 posted on 01/25/2006 12:32:40 PM PST by Mrs. Darla Ruth Schwerin
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To: Aquinasfan

Because one human being is in the process of developing, and the other is a fully realized human being. I'm sorry, I just think a woman is more than the box the baby comes in.


147 posted on 01/25/2006 12:33:58 PM PST by linda_22003
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To: linda_22003

And here he is a few months later, God bless him.

148 posted on 01/25/2006 12:34:10 PM PST by jwalsh07
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To: Sisku Hanne
It has been my experience that the most strident supporters have first-hand experience.

That's my experience as well. To acknowledge that abortion is the snuffing-out of a life is more than those who have done so, whether out of ignorance, desperation or convenience, can handle.

149 posted on 01/25/2006 12:35:11 PM PST by fullchroma
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To: jwalsh07

He turned into a little red x? Poor thing. :)


150 posted on 01/25/2006 12:36:09 PM PST by linda_22003
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To: linda_22003
You want a good source on the March for Life? You're talking to one. LOL

Priests wear vestments. Yes there were shocking photos of aborted babies but few and far between. There were even a hundred or so pro choicers at the SCOTUS but they were outnumbered by a minimum of a thousand to one.

151 posted on 01/25/2006 12:37:21 PM PST by jwalsh07
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To: jwalsh07

I know. I took the reference to AFP to mean there was an objection to their tone.


152 posted on 01/25/2006 12:40:31 PM PST by linda_22003
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To: Flavius Josephus

"That's funny, I used to be in favor of it for rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother, but now I don't think they child should have to pay for the rape or incest, and I don't believe it ever endangers the life of the mother."

I had a friend who was raped right out of college (22). She woke up in the middle of the night to find a 200 lb man of a different race on top of her with knife at her throat. No, it probably would not have endangered her life. Only her mental health. I want to know how many on this board would force their daughters to have the child under these circumstances?



153 posted on 01/25/2006 12:45:43 PM PST by New Girl
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To: New Girl

Well, not their OWN daughters. ;)


154 posted on 01/25/2006 12:46:33 PM PST by linda_22003
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To: FourtySeven

If the people voted that Manslaughter should be legal it would still be murder. I realize that the past 33 years of abortion leaves a bad taste in our mouths regarding judicial fiat, but murder is murder. If the people support it, it's still wrong and morally reprehensible.


155 posted on 01/25/2006 12:48:40 PM PST by Flavius Josephus (Enemy Idealogies: Pacifism, Liberalism, and Feminism.)
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To: Aquinasfan; linda_22003
Ask around. See how many of your aquaintances know whether the pill can act as an abortifacient. I'd bet that no more than 10% of the adult population knows this to be the case. Less than 5% will know how the pill works as an abortifacient.

I must admit I didn't know myself until about 2 years ago, and I have been educated in the biological sciences. It wasn't until I actually sat down and read the "label" (online of course, since I don't take such "medication") that I realized it actually can kill a developing fertilized egg.

Which really goes to prove linda's point. People should avail themselves of the medical knowledge freely available to everyone who takes medications. It's not like it's a secret what the pills do, it's just not something that is talked about when women go to their doctor and ask for such a prescription. (should there be a law forcing doctors to inform their patients that the pill can cause very early term abortions? Maybe there is already. I wouldn't see why it would be a big deal to make such a law though, so I would answer "yes".)

156 posted on 01/25/2006 12:50:18 PM PST by FourtySeven (47)
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To: linda_22003

yeah, I guess that wasn't written very well. :) I am against abortion in most cases but I'm sure I'll get flamed anyway. :)


157 posted on 01/25/2006 12:50:33 PM PST by New Girl
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To: New Girl

No flame, but to me, the actual physical life of a baby takes precidence over the "mental health" of a mother any day.

There's always adoption.


158 posted on 01/25/2006 12:52:45 PM PST by FourtySeven (47)
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To: Digger

This guy was just bad at predicting the 2004 election on the morning it happened, as I'm sure you are aware. Perhaps he's now polling excusively with the idiotic Zogby Interactive model (where he polls a group that volunteer to be polled)?


159 posted on 01/25/2006 12:54:30 PM PST by WinOne4TheGipper (Hey DUmmies, I'm a proud facist. Ann Coulter is much more attractive than Helen Thomas.)
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To: summer
Where and when I grew up, getting an abortion was viewed by many as almost trivial decision. Times have really changed.

I think much of what's driven this change has been advances in medical imaging technology, to the point where NOW and other pro-abortion extremists call the GE 4-D ultrasound machine a "weapon," because it vastly expands the meaning of a "fully informed decision:"


160 posted on 01/25/2006 12:54:50 PM PST by mvpel (Michael Pelletier)
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