Poll Finds Americans Say Abortion Morally Wrong, Embryonic Research OK
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 19, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A new poll from Gallup finds more Americans say abortion is morally wrong but a majority of Americans believe embryonic stem cell research and assisted suicide are morally okay. The percentages aren’t too far removed from the results Gallup obtained in the same poll last June.
Gallup asked respondents in its 2008 Values and Beliefs survey to say whether various practices are "morally acceptable or morally wrong."
Abortion came in as the sixth most morally unacceptable practice out of the 16 practices Gallup named in the survey. Some 48 percent of Americans say it is morally wrong while 40 percent say abortion is okay.
The June 2007 poll found a 51-40 percent split in opposition to abortion.
Meanwhile, the pro-life movement continues to have an uphill battle when it comes to embryonic stem cell research as 62 percent of Americans say there are no moral problems with the practice even though it destroys human life. Another 30 percent say it is morally wrong to kill human beings to advance science.
Last year 64 percent said embryonic stem cell research was okay while 30 percent said no.
The Gallup poll finds another close split on the issue of assisted suicide, with 51 percent saying it’s all right and 44 percent disagreeing. That’s another very slight change from the 49-44 percent breakdown in favor of assisted suicide this time last year.
Americans continue to strongly oppose cloning, according to the Gallup survey.
A whopping 85 percent of the public opposes human cloning, with just 11 percent supporting it, and another 61 percent say animal cloning is also morally acceptable. Just 33 percent are willing to say cloning animals is okay.
According to the Gallup poll, divorce (70 percent), gambling (63%), the death penalty (62%) and embryonic stem cell research are the most morally acceptable of the controversial practices.
Affairs (7 percent), polygamy (8%) and human cloning (11%) were the least acceptable.
