North Carolina: Voters Prefer Pro-Life Thom Tillis to Pro-Abortion Kay Hagan

State   |   National Right to Life   |   Jul 8, 2014   |   5:35PM   |   Charlotte, NC

A new poll conducted by The Polling Company/WomanTrend for National Right to Life indicates that pro-abortion Sen. Kay Hagan’s abortion position is out of touch with voters.

By an overwhelming 55%-35% margin, voters chose a hypothetical pro-life candidate whose views match those of Republican nominee Thom Tillis over a hypothetical pro-choice candidate whose views match those of Sen. Kay Hagan.

TillisHaganThe website for Tillis’ campaign explains that “Thom believes all life is sacred and as Speaker, he promoted pro-life policies and helped reverse the pro-abortion state policies Democrats had put in place for decades.” In November 2013, a spokesman for the Tillis campaign said that he “absolutely” supports the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (S. 1670), which would ban abortions after 20 weeks, when the unborn child is capable of feeling pain. Under his leadership as speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, the legislature passed a number of pro-life measures, including prohibiting taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for abortion or to pay for insurance coverage for abortion.

Kay Hagan supports the current policy of abortion on demand, which allows abortion for any reason, and opposes the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (S. 1670). A November 19, 2013 article in the Raleigh News-Observer stated that Hagan “made it clear she would not vote for a bill that would ban abortions beginning at 20 weeks.” She voted for Obamacare, which provides government funding for insurance plans that pay for abortion, and has voted to spend federal funds on health plans that cover abortion on demand (12/8/09, Roll Call 369).

“Abortion continues to be a key issue with the electorate,” said David N. O’Steen, Ph.D., National Right to Life executive director. “When they learn about the position of the candidates on abortion, voters in election after election side with the pro-life candidate.”

The June poll comes on the heels of an annual survey by Gallup, which found that just 39% were in favor of the current policy of abortion for any reason (the position of Kay Hagan), with 28% saying abortion should be legal under any circumstances and 11% saying abortion should be legal under most circumstances. A substantial majority, 58%, believes abortion should be legal in only a few circumstances (37%) or illegal in all circumstances (21%).

Gallup also asked about only voting for a candidate “who shares your abortion views.” Nineteen percent answered that they would only vote for a candidate who shared their views on the abortion issue, with 11% saying they would vote only for the pro-life candidate and 8% saying they would vote only for the pro-choice candidate.

“It’s clear that most Americans do not support the policy of abortion for any reason that was established by Roe v. Wade,” O’Steen said. “And they will continue to support candidates who reject this extreme policy of abortion for any reason.”

The complete question from The Polling Company follows.

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The Polling Company/WomenTrend
Field Dates: June 12-15, 2014
N = 1,014
Margin of Error: +/- 3.1%

CANDIDATE “A” opposes abortion except when the mother’s life is in danger or in cases of rape or incest. This candidate opposes using tax dollars to pay for abortion and supports legislation that would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks when the unborn child can feel pain.

CANDIDATE “B” supports a woman’s choice to have an abortion. This candidate supports using tax dollars to pay for abortion and opposes legislation that would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks.

55% TOTAL SUPPORT CANDIDATE “A” (NET)
32% STRONGLY SUPPORT CANDIDATE “A”
23% SOMEWHAT SUPPORT CANDIDATE “A”

35% TOTAL SUPPORT CANDIDATE “B” (NET)
18% SOMEWHAT SUPPORT CANDIDATE “B”
16% STRONGLY SUPPORT CANDIDATE “B”