Second New Poll Shows Majority of Americans are Pro-Life on Abortion

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Oct 29, 2007   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Second New Poll Shows Majority of Americans are Pro-Life on Abortion Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 29,
2007

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A second poll in as many weeks is showing that a majority of Americans are pro-life when it comes to abortion. Last week, a CBS News survey showed over half of the public opposes most or all abortions and now a new poll from Bloomberg News and the Los Angeles Times has found the same thing.

The new media survey asked respondents which of four positions "comes closest to your view on abortion."

Some 40 percent of those polled said abortion should be illegal 98 percent of the time — "except in cases of rape, incest and to save the mother’s life."

Another 10 percent took a pro-life position that "abortion should be made illegal without any exceptions."

Only 44 percent of Americans favor legal abortions, according to the survey, with 31 percent saying they should be "always legal" and just 13 percent saying they should be legal "most of the time."

The two media outlets interviewed 1,209 American adults from Oct. 19 to Oct. 22 and their poll has a three percent margin of error.

As LifeNews.com reported last week, a CBS News poll found 54 percent of Americans take one of three pro-life positions opposing all or almost all abortions and another 16 percent want more restrictions on it.

The October 12-16 poll asked Americans to tell CBS News their "personal feelings" on abortion.

The survey found that 16 percent of the public only favors allowing abortions "only to save woman’s life" and another 34 percent think abortions should just be allowed in the very rare cases of rape, incest or to save the mother’s life.

Another four percent of Americans want all abortions to be made illegal.

With the Planned Parenthood-affiliated Alan Guttmacher Institute showing that less than two percent of all abortions are done in cases of rape, incest or to save the mother’s life, the CBS News poll shows 54 percent of Americans oppose 98 percent of all abortions.

According to the survey, just 26 percent of the public wants abortions permitted in all cases.

Another 16 percent want abortions to remain legal but to be subject to greater restrictions than they currently face.

In total, 70 percent of those polled want abortions illegal in most or all cases or subject to greater restrictions.

The CBS News poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,282 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone October 12-16, 2007. It has a three percentage point margin of error.