New Poll: 55% of Americans Say Abortion Morally Wrong

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Aug 26, 2011   |   2:46PM   |   Washington, DC

A new national poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports finds more than half of Americans still believe abortions are morally wrong, although the polling finds different results from most surveys when asking whether respondents are pro-life or pro-choice.

Rasmussen found 55% believe abortion is morally wrong most of the time, a finding that shows little change since April 2007, when it started asking the question. Thirty percent (30%) think abortion is morally acceptable in the majority of cases, while 15% are undecided.

Seventy-two percent (72%) of GOP voters and 60% of unaffiliateds think abortion is morally wrong most of the time. The plurality (46%) of Democrats disagree and feel abortion is not morally wrong in most instances.

Despite that pro-life response, 48 percent of likely voters classify themselves as “pro-choice” on abortion while 43 percent say they are pro-life. Fifty-one percent (51%) of female voters say they’re pro-choice, but just 44% of male voters say the same. Voters under the age of 40 are more likely to be pro-choice than their elders, the survey shows, which is also at odds with most polls.

Most Democrats (70%) are pro-choice, while the majority (62%) of Republicans and a plurality (47%) of voters not affiliated with either major party are pro-life.

The poll also found a majority of voters say abortion will affect how they vote in the next election, where Americans will decide if they want to keep pro-abortion President Barack Obama in the White House for another four years and whether pro-life Republicans or pro-abortion Democrats run Congress.

When it comes to the next congressional election, 54% of voters say the issue of abortion is at least somewhat important in terms of how they will vote, including 31% who say it’s Very Important, Ramussen reports. Forty-four percent (44%) say the issue of abortion isn’t important come the next congressional election, with 17% who believe it’s Not At All Important.

Meanwhile, 41 percent of voters say it’s too easy to get an abortion in the United States.  Only 16% feel it’s too hard to get one, and another 29% say the level of accessibility is about right.  Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure.  Generally, these findings also have remained consistent since 2007. Some states in the country require a waiting period before a woman gets an abortion.  Just over half (52%) agree that there should be a waiting period, while 35% disagree, the Rasmussen poll showed. Thirteen percent (13%) are undecided.

Republicans are nearly three times as likely as Democrats and nearly twice as likely as unaffiliated voters to think it’s too easy to get an abortion in America today.

Separate surveying earlier this year that Rasmussen conducted found 65% of Americans support a three-day waiting period and counseling before an abortion. Sixty-five percent (65%) also believe the waiting period and counseling are at least somewhat likely to reduce the number of abortions.

When it comes to social issues like abortion, public prayer and church-state topics: 36% of voters say they are conservative, 29% moderate and 32% liberal.

The national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on August 23-24, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.