The Poll results thus far:
Disgusting and inappropriate 73% (3058 votes)
I may not agree, but they have the right to free speech 2% (84 votes)
I may be against abortion, but this is too much 7% (295 votes)
Effective and needed 16% (696 votes)
I disagree. I think the research behind this project is sound ... it IS next to impossible to get a fair shake from the mainstream media. All this group has done is create a new media -- a direct one. So what if it make people uncomfortable? They NEED to be uncomfortable.
As to the question of when life begins, consider this. At what point does DNA different from that of the contributors of the sperm and egg come into existence? There's your answer.
Two comments.
A. A good deal of the article was taken up speaking about this very issue. Did you read the article? If so, why not react to the answer Cunningham gives, rather than ignore it?
B. Internet polls are not an accurate portrayal of public opinion.
It is odd that some pro life advocates would think that this message, however grotesque and shocking, would have any effect whatsoever on the choice crowd. I mean, would pro life change its mind if choicers started a media campaign intended to shock and bring attention to their point of view?
No.
This is a feel-good way to do nothing about stopping abortions.
Hey, the reality of it is disgusting and it's high time people had to confront the reality of it. It may disgust someone, but at least that someone will have a better understanding of the issue at hand. I hope the campaign continues.
The media has no problem showing us the "innocent victims" in Afghanistan or wherever we happen to be fighting evil at any given moment, but they flat don't want this evil shown for what it is, do they?
MM
http://www.prolifeinfo.org/upl6.html
Most Women Believe Abortion Has Hurt Relationships Between Men and Women
WASHINGTON -- "Abortion rights activists, like Betty Friedan, promised the country that abortion would make women whole, but four out of five people say abortion has emotionally torn women to pieces," Family Research Council Policy Analyst Gracie S. Hsu said Tuesday. "The damage is not limited to emotional consequences; a majority of Americans believe that abortion-on-demand has hurt relationships between men and women, driving the two apart. In addition, 70 percent of them say legalized abortion is not necessary to help women pursue educational and career goals. Americans are saying that the promises of pro-abortionists were lies, and that now Americans need serious healing."
Miss Hsu spoke Tuesday at a news conference held at the Family Research Council to unveil polling data on the social and emotional impact of abortion. A survey of 1,000 adults, conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide, found the following:
Most adults (53%) believe that abortion has hindered the relationships between men and women. 58 percent of women and 48 percent of men agree. Most Americans (78%) strongly agree that women who have had abortions experience emotional trauma, such as grief and regret.
Most Americans (70%) believe that legal abortion is not necessary for women to pursue various educational and career goals. Hsu said that the poll's results "challenge pro-abortionists' claims that abortion helps women. The untold story of abortion is the tragic social and emotional damage it causes women."
Post-abortion grief is not limited to women. Bob Kirk, from Boulder, CO, told his story Tuesday about the emotional trauma and drug addiction that followed his experience with abortion. Olivia Gans, Director of American Victims of Abortion, also spoke about her post-abortion experience, which included anxiety attacks, depression, and serious dysfunctional behavior. Both have undergone counseling and been involved as post-abortion counselors. Vicki Thorn, founder of Project Rachel, a post-abortion counseling network within the Catholic Church, described the model she created for post-abortion healing. Thorn also directs the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation & Healing (1-800-5WE-CARE), a national referral network for men and women seeking healing.
Bauer Says 'Pulse Of The Nation Reads Americans Are More Pro-Life'
WASHINGTON -- "It's true. Americans are becoming increasingly pro-life and are strongly opposed to later-term abortions," Family Research Council President Gary Bauer said Wednesday. "Elected officials must make progress in banning abortion by standing with the overwhelming majority of Americans who oppose partial-birth abortion and later-term abortions."
Bauer spoke Wednesday at a news conference held at the Family Research Council where polling data were released and pro-life strategy discussed. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Robert Casey, his son Chris Casey, and Marjorie Dannenfelser, Chairman of the Board of the pro-life political action committee the Susan B. Anthony List, joined Bauer in discussing the pro-life shift in public opinion and the future of the pro-life movement.
The January 1998 Wirthlin poll commissioned by FRC found:
Most Americans believe that abortion should not be permitted after signs of life can be detected.
Specifically, 61 percent disagree that "abortion should be permitted after fetal brainwaves are detected," and 58 percent agree that "abortion should not be permitted after the fetal heartbeat has begun." (Note: Fetal brainwaves can be detected as early as the sixth week of pregnancy, and fetal heartbeat usually begins between days 18 and 21.) American attitudes toward abortion have become increasingly pro-life. Most Americans (57 percent) describe their own personal position on abortion as pro-life. Only 21 percent believe that abortion should be legal for any reason during the first three months of pregnancy. Only 10 percent believe abortion should be legal for any reason during the first six months of pregnancy, and only 9 percent feel abortion should be legal at any time during pregnancy and for any reason.
Women are more pro-life than men -- a trend over the past decade. Sixty-one percent of women hold a pro-life position compared to 53 percent of men. Women under age 34 and over 55 are more pro-life than middle-aged women.
"In the last quarter of a century, more than 35 million lives have been sacrificed needlessly," Bauer said. "It is a standing rebuke to a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that we are all created equal.
The shift in public opinion and behavior is heartening. It shows Americans will continue to chip away at Roe until it is reversed."
1998
The following is a Wirthlin Worldwide poll conducted 1/98: Pro-life
12% believe abortion should be prohibited in all circumstances
12% would prohibit abortion except to save the life of the mother
35% would prohibit abortion to save the life of he mother or in cases or rape and incest
TOTAL: 59% pro-life
Pro-abortion rights
27% would allow abortions but not after the third month
7% would allow abortions but not after viability
Only 7% believe abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during pregnancy
TOTAL: 41% pro-abortion rights
1994
Of those who said that abortion affected the way they voted in the 1994 elections, twice as many people said they voted for pro-life candidates than pro-abortion. - Wirthlin, November 9
If choosing between a Republican candidate who opposed abortion or a Democrat candidate for favored abortion, people support the pro-life candidate 45%-37%. - Wirthlin, November 9,
68% said they were strongly or somewhat concerned that a health care plan might promote abortions (47% strongly concerned) - Washington Post, February
33% of people are actively pro-life, 19% are inactively pro-life, 14% are personally opposed to abortion but wouldn't say no to others having one; total "pro-life" - 66% - From "Before the Shooting Begins: Searching for Democracy in America's Culture War," by James Davidson Hunter, 1994.
1993
55% said abortion should either be prohibited in all circumstances, legal only to save the life of the mother, or legal in the cases or rape and incest and to save the life of the mother - Wirthlin, January 18-22
66% said abortion should not be covered in any health care plan (66% men said no, 65% women said no) - CBS/New York Times, June
52% said any national health care plan should not include abortion - NBC Poll, September
62% said abortion should not be included in health care and the mother wanting abortion should pay for it herself - Harris Poll, September
64% said abortion should be illegal in all circumstances or legal only under certain circumstances - Gallop, January 16
1992
73% favor requiring that minors obtain the consent of one parent before having an abortion - Time Mirror, May 8 81% support requiring women to wait 24 hours and to give their "informed consent" before having their abortion - Time Mirror, May 8
61% of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 voice pro-life views - Wirthlin, January 22
63% oppose federal funding of research using tissue from aborted fetuses - Wirthlin, January 22
69% favor requiring a woman to notify her husband before she has an abortion - Times Mirror, May 8
63% favor "a law requiring a pregnant woman to notify her husband if she decides to have an abortion." - Gallop, January 18
Abortion should be either legal under certain circumstances or illegal at all times - Newsweek, July 23
males w/ college degrees 54%
females w/ college degrees 51%
males w/o college degrees 75%
females w/o college degrees 70%
Exit polls by Wirthlin and VRS (Voters Research Survey) showed that for those who considered abortion to be one of the top two issues, Bush received a 2.5-6% lead. - Wirthlin and VRS, November
1991
64% say "abortion should be illegal in all circumstances" or "legal only under certain circumstances" - Austin American Statesman, October 8
86% mostly favor legislation "requiring women to receive information about fetal development and alternatives to abortion before going ahead to the procedure." - Gallop, done in 1991, reported on January 16, 1992
73% favor a 24-hour waiting period - same as above
70% support parental consent - same as above
73% support spousal notification - same as above
1989
80% oppose abortion as a form of birth control - Los Angles Times, March 19
65% support legislation which, in a pregnancy of 20 weeks or more, doctors must test to ensure that the fetus is not developed enough to live outside the womb before a woman could have an abortion - CBS News/New York Times, September 17-20
54% support legislation stipulating that no abortions be done "in public facilities except to save a woman's life." - Newsweek, July 17
57% said abortion should not be allowed "if the woman is unmarried and does not want to marry the father" - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 8
85% believe abortion should be illegal "if the woman cannot afford to care for the baby." - Washington Post, October 7
92% believe abortion should be illegal "if the family decides they don't want another child." - Washington Post, October 7
54% agree that "the solution to abortion is adoption." - Los Angles Times, March 19
69% said "in general the lives of unborn babies should be protected." - Wirthlin, October
60%- 98% (depending on the reason) oppose 98% of all abortions in America - Boston Globe, March 31; NY Times January 22; Los Angles Times, March 19; Newsweek, April 24