Poll: 63% of Republicans Want Abortion Illegal, Miss Giuliani’s Stance 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 4, 2007
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A new poll conducted by the Pew Research firm for the Associated Press finds almost two-thirds of Republicans want all or most abortions illegal. The survey found that to be the case in Iowa and South Carolina and showed that half of voters still don’t know Rudy Giuliani is the lone pro-abortion Republican candidate.
The survey finds 63 percent of Republicans nationwide say abortion should mostly (43 percent) or always (20 percent) be illegal.
Just 34 percent of Republicans take a pro-abortion position saying it should be mostly legal (23 percent) or, as abortion is nationally under Roe v. Wade, always legal (11 percent).
The Pew poll found that, in Iowa, Mike Huckabee is most often mentioned as the candidate who can do the best job of “reflecting your views on social issues like abortion." Some 27 percent of Republicans cite him as best on abortion, which is about twice the percentage naming any other candidate.
But in New Hampshire, 28% say Mitt Romney can do the best job on social issues, while just 9% name Huckabee.
As evidenced by the fierce campaigning in Iowa, more Iowa Republicans are aware of Rudy Giuliani’s pro-abortion position than are GOP voters elsewhere.
Two-thirds of likely Republican voters in Iowa (66 percent) name Giuliani as the candidate who favors abortion. By comparison, only about half of Republican voters nationwide (48 percent) — as well as 47 percent in South Carolina and 54 percent in New Hampshire — identified Giuliani as the pro-abortion candidate.
The poll broke down the attitude of Republicans on abortion in the three top early primary battleground states. It found GOP voters were most strongly against abortion in Iowa and South Carolina and more supportive in New Hampshire.
Iowa Republicans opposed abortion at the same 63 percent rate as GOP supporters nationally, with 40 percent saying it should be mostly illegal and 23 percent saying abortion should always be illegal.
Some 28 percent of Iowa Republicans said abortion should be mostly legal while only 7 percent said it should always be legal.
South Carolina Republicans opposed abortion but at slightly lower rates than their Iowa counterparts — as 56 percent opposed either most (36 percent) or all (20 percent) abortions.
Thirty-eight percent of GOP voters there backed most (28 percent) or all (10 percent) abortions.
New Hampshire Republicans support legalized abortion, joining other liberal Northeastern states in going against the abortion views of voters in the South and Midwest.
There, 40 percent of Republicans said most abortions (27 percent) or all abortions (13 percent) should be illegal while 55 percent said most abortions (37 percent) or all abortions (18 percent) should remain legal.
