“Current proposals that promote late-term abortion have reset the landscape and language on abortion in a pronounced – and very measurable – way,” said Barbara Carvalho, director of The Marist Poll.
I think this is exactly what’s going on. Some more moderate or centrist people are seeing the left go so far overboard on late term abortion, including letting the baby die after birth, that they are feeling revulsion.
In my opinion, the “pro-choice” versus “pro-life” dichotomy is vague and largely meaningless, because it may indeed depend on whatever marginal abortion-related issue has been loudly in the news recently.
This particular poll found that 61 percent of Americans support banning abortion after 20 weeks, and 68 percent oppose taxpayer funding of abortion.
But even that could probably be malleable when more factors are added to the question.
For example, a Hart Research survey commissioned by Planned Parenthood found that the same number of Americans would oppose a 20-week ban if a doctor determined the fetus isn’t viable, which happens several weeks later, or in cases of rape, incest or health issues.
So, when people consider the range of circumstances in which abortions would be made illegal under most 20-week abortion ban proposals, a majority of Americans oppose them.
The pro-choices all insist that just a tiny portion of the overall abortions are late term ones and most are done for medical and health reasons.
So, I’d really like to add one question in a poll to really gauge how Americans feel. Would those polled still support abortion if they include the factor of HEALTH of the mother in the question?
THAT remains to be seen.