Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Debate Made Public Opinion
More Pro-Life
By Paul Freedman
Though the partial-birth abortion ban has been blocked by the courts, it remains potent for a different reason: The more it is debated in Congress, the courts, and the presidential campaign, the more it helps turn public opinion against abortion generally. As the partial-birth debate unfolded in Congress, in the courts, and in state legislatures -- as Americans were confronted with the rhetoric of "infanticide" and the imagery of late-term abortion -- the number of pro-life identifiers increased steadily, from 33 percent in 1995 to 36 percent in July 1996; 40 percent in the fall of 1997 up to 45 percent in early 1998, leveling off at the 41 percent-43 percent range from the spring of 1999 through the spring of 2001, and increasing to 45 percent-46 percent from the summer of 2001 through the fall of 2003. This 13-point increase was accompanied by a decrease in the percentage of Americans identifying as pro-choice. In short, since the start of the partial-birth debate, Americans have grown more likely to see themselves as pro-life, less likely to consider themselves pro-choice, and less likely to support abortion unconditionally.