Exit Polling Data Shows Pro-Lifers Failed to Vote Pro-Life

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Nov 8, 2012   |   5:26PM   |   Washington, DC

Exit polling data from Tuesday’s presidential election shows the pro-life movement may have itself to blame partly as pro-life voters failed to either show up to vote in the election or did not support pro-life candidate Mitt Romney if they did.

In May, Gallup reported that the percentage of Americans who identify themselves as supporting legalized abortion has dropped to a record low.

“The 41% of Americans who now identify themselves as “pro-choice” is down from 47% last July and is one percentage point below the previous record low in Gallup trends, recorded in May 2009,” the polling firm noted. On the other hand, 51 percent of Americans call themselves pro-life, one percentage point away from the record high.

With a 51-41 percentage-point pro-life split in the number of Americans who take a position on abortion, pro-life Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney should have had a greater percentage of the popular vote on Tuesday. President Barack Obama, who favors unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy, takes a position that very few Americans support.

Despite the breakdown, exit polling data shows just 36 percent of voters who showed up to the polls took a pro-life position supporting making all or most abortions illegal while 59 percent took a pro-abortion position favoring keeping all or most abortions legal.

The disconnect in the numbers mean one of a number of things happened: a) pro-life voters did not turn out in the same numbers as abortion advocates, b) pro-life voters went to the polls and either voted for a third-party candidate or did not vote in the presidential election, or c) pro-life voters supported the most pro-abortion president in history.

Much of the response to the presidential election has revolved around how the Obama campaign did a much better job turning out his supporters than the Romney team. If that’s the case, and pro-life voters stayed home, they did the pro-life cause a terrible disservice and have potentially left unborn children without legal support for another 40 years if President Obama can continue packing the Supreme Court with abortion activists.

If b) and c) are true, and pro-life voters either supported Obama or voted for another candidate and failed to support the nominee who had pledged to help overturn Roe, sign pro-life bills, de-fund abortion and Planned Parenthood, the pro-life movement needs to do a better job convincing these people how to truly vote pro-life.

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Fox News’ exit polling breaks down nationally and state by state as follows:

Which comes closest to your position?  Abortion should be: 

National

  • Legal in all cases 29%
  • Legal in most cases 30%
  • Illegal in most cases 23%
  • Illegal in all cases 13%

New Hampshire

  • Legal in all cases 40%
  • Legal in most cases 32%
  • Illegal in most cases 18%
  • Illegal in all cases 7%

New York

  • Legal in all cases 42%
  • Legal in most cases 29%
  • Illegal in most cases 17%
  • Illegal in all cases 4%

New Jersey

  • Legal in all cases 40%
  • Legal in most cases 31%
  • Illegal in most cases 11%
  • Illegal in all cases 14%

California

  • Legal in all cases 35%
  • Legal in most cases 33%
  • Illegal in most cases 18%
  • Illegal in all cases 9%

Nevada

  • Legal in all cases 33%
  • Legal in most cases 31%
  • Illegal in most cases 21%
  • Illegal in all cases 9%

Illinois

  • Legal in all cases 32%
  • Legal in most cases 32%
  • Illegal in most cases 22%
  • Illegal in all cases 11%

Arizona

  • Legal in all cases 26%
  • Legal in most cases 37%
  • Illegal in most cases 27%
  • Illegal in all cases 8%

Virginia  

  • Legal in all cases 31%
  • Legal in most cases 31%
  • Illegal in most cases 22%
  • Illegal in all cases 10%

Wisconsin

  • Legal in all cases 30%
  • Legal in most cases 27%
  • Illegal in most cases 28%
  • Illegal in all cases 12%

Ohio

  • Legal in all cases 25%
  • Legal in most cases 31%
  • Illegal in most cases 27%
  • Illegal in all cases 12%

Michigan

  • Legal in all cases 31%
  • Legal in most cases 25%
  • Illegal in most cases 24%
  • Illegal in all cases 15%

Iowa

  • Legal in all cases 23%
  • Legal in most cases 32%
  • Illegal in most cases 26%
  • Illegal in all cases 13%

North Carolina

  • Legal in all cases 25%
  • Legal in most cases 28%
  • Illegal in most cases 27%
  • Illegal in all cases 13%

Missouri

  • Legal in all cases 24%
  • Legal in most cases 29%
  • Illegal in most cases 30%
  • Illegal in all cases 15%