Poll Shows More Support for Pro-Abortion Health Care Bills After Obama Speech
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 14, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A new poll shows more support for the pro-abortion health care bills in Congress following President Barack Obama’s speech last week. Obama forcefully promoted the bills in a campaign-style speech and he and his staff have been hitting the television circuit and visiting states to build support.
A new Rasmussen survey released today shows about an even split against the current health care bills, which allow massive taxpayer-funding of abortions once the margin of error is included.
The new poll shows backing for the pro-abortion bill has now risen to the highest level yet and it measured a slight uptick in support among Republicans and voters not affiliated with either party.
Fifty-one percent of all voters nationwide now favor the plan while 46% are opposed. In June, as the public debate was just beginning, 50% favored the plan and 45% were opposed.
"Support for the plan fell over the summer and reached a point where 53% of voters opposed it. However, in the days following the president’s speech, support for the plan has been moving up on a fairly consistent basis," Rasmussen explained.
Still, the intensity gap continues to favor those who oppose the plan.
Currently, 28% strongly favor the pro-abortion health care restructuring bills while 38 percent are strongly opposed. In late August, 23% were strongly in favor of the plan and 43% were strongly opposed.
"Initially, the increases in support were restricted to Democrats. However, today’s update is the first to register modest gains among both Republicans and unaffiliated voters. Forty-seven percent (47%) of unaffiliated voters now favor the plan while 50% are opposed," Rasmussen explained.
If the plan passes, 34% of voters say the quality of care will get better and 46% say it will get worse. In August, the numbers were 23% better and 50% worse.
Despite the Rasmussen results, the effort to educate Americans that the health care plan would force them to pay for abortions could be a factor in getting the bills amended or defeated.
Conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, a new poll released last week shows 43 percent of adult voters would be less likely to support a health care reform bill that funds abortions while just 8 percent would be more supportive.
The poll found voter intensity is strong with over one-third (36%) of voters saying they would be much less likely to support the plan.
Public Opinion Strategies found 58% of Americans disagree with the statement, “If the government is going to make a public health plan available for all Americans it has an obligation to provide abortion services under that plan.” Just 38 percent support it.
The analysis shows 80 percent of Republicans disagree, 60 percent of independents disagree and 39 percent of Democrats disagree.
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