Recent Polls Show Measurable Shift To Pro-Life Attitudes
WASHINGTON (May 5, 2006)—According to recent nationwide opinion polls,
support for Roe v. Wade is waning.
Deirdre McQuade, Director of Planning and Information at the USCCB’s
Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, notes that “public opinion has moved
progressively away from supporting unqualified access to abortion.”
“This is a real sign of hope,” she said, “for both women and their unborn
children.”
A May 4 Harris poll — which misleadingly asked about support for Roe v.
Wade as if that decision made abortion legal during only the first three
months of pregnancy — found that support has dropped below 50% for the
first time in 30 years. It also showed that 44% of Americans said they
would support a law in their own state like South Dakota's, banning all
abortions except to save the mother's life.
“An April 2006 survey by the Polling Company, Inc./WomanTrend found that
54% support limiting legal abortion to the extreme circumstances of rape,
incest, and to save the life of the mother,” Ms. McQuade said, “and an
additional 21% would limit abortion to only the first trimester – a far
cry from the abortion license established by Roe v. Wade, which allows
abortion for virtually any reason throughout the nine months of
pregnancy.”
In March, a Zogby poll found majority support for abortion regulations
such as informed consent laws for women and parental notification laws,
with 69% favoring such measures for girls under 17 years old.
“We expect that Americans will continue to trend pro-life as they learn
more about abortion and its impact on women, men, and society,” Ms.
McQuade said.