Michigan Pro-Life Group Disputes Results of New Media Poll on Abortion
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 25, 2008
Lansing, MI (LifeNews.com) — A leading Michigan pro-life group is disputing the results of a new poll claiming to show a majority of the state’s residents support abortion. Right to Life of Michigan says the wording of the WXYZ-TV poll tilts the results in the direction of the pro-abortion side.
The television station teamed up with the Detroit News for the poll taken July 13 to 15 of 600 voters across the state.
The poll asked: "Do you think of yourself as pro-choice, meaning that you support allowing women to have the right to an abortion, or do you consider yourself pro-life, meaning that you oppose abortions except where it is necessary to save the life of the mother?"
Some 53 percent of the respondents said they support legal abortions while 41 percent say they are pro-life. Another 6 percent are undecided or wouldn’t answer.
Pam Sherstad of Right to Life of Michigan says the poll isn’t as accurate as it could be because "the words pro-choice and pro-life can be explosive and are easily misunderstood."
She told LifeNews.com, "It is difficult to respond to specific polling questions or to truly know how people feel about the issue."
"We know that the abortion issue is both personal and political. The pro-life and pro-choice positions provide opposing views to the issue; we continue to see the divide in this recent polling data," she explained.
Sherstad said better education is needed to help people understand what legalized abortion really means.
"At this time, abortion is legal through all nine months of pregnancy; many people do not know this truth," she said.
Michigan residents also need to know that, if abortions are ever illegal, that women have a variety of pregnancy options.
"Thankfully, women in Michigan now have more than 100 pregnancy centers which offer free assistance to pregnant women. Families have learned that unexpected pregnancies can lead to unexpected joy," she said.
Sherstad concluded the LifeNews.com interview saying that polls are less important than how pro-life advocates help women facing a crisis pregnancy.
"No matter how people respond to a poll question, the reality is that women still face unplanned pregnancies. Often how we respond to women facing untimely pregnancies will determine whether an unborn child lives or dies," she said.
Related web sites:
Right to Life of Michigan – https://www.rtl.org
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