Ohio Poll Shows Majority Oppose Abortion, Concerned About Health Care Rationing
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 6, 2009
Columbus, OH (LifeNews.com) — A new poll shows a majority of Ohio residents oppose abortion and a sizable number are concerned about rationing in health care. Ohio Right to Life is the sponsor of the poll, which is the second installment of its Ohio Cultural Index, which measures Ohio attitudes on cultural issues.
The pro-life group says the highly charged partisan political environment in Washington and Columbus over the last three months has taken a negative toll on how Ohioans view their culture.
Ohio Right to Life found Ohioans are increasingly concerned about how bureaucratic health care decisions, public education, government policies and their own choices impact the quality of life for their families.
The poll found 52% oppose abortion, 57% believe abortion has a negative effect on women who have them, and 55% oppose use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion.
"Ohioans are feeling a certain level of anxiety with the big issue political debates occurring in Congress and at the Statehouse," Ohio Right to Life director Mike Gonidakis told LifeNews.com.
"Whether the topic is national health care or public school curriculums, many Ohioans aren’t yet sure what the final result will mean for their families," he said. "Fortunately, they are steadied by a strong faith in God and belief that our state is still a good place to raise a family."
The survey found Ohio voters are concerned about the availability of health care for very sick or elderly patients.
Asked if they believe very sick or elderly patients are denied treatments because of cost factors, 41 percent agreed it currently happens in Ohio. The finding is up from 25 percent just three months ago.
"This significant negative movement comes after three months in which health care reform emerged and dominated the national debate," pollster Fritz Wenzel said.
"The very public dispute over whether government might weigh the cost of a given treatment versus the value of the remaining life of the person seeking the treatment certainly permeated the public consciousness," he indicated.
The findings are similar to those reported in the first Ohio Cultural Index released on July 7.
A total of 60 percent of Ohio voters said they were opposed to abortion with 47.9 percent saying they strongly opposed abortion. Just 26.7 percent of those polled said they favor legal abortions.
The results were strong across the board regardless of party, location or socioeconomic status.
The poll found 80 percent of Republicans oppose abortion compared with 54.7 percent of independents and 46.5 percent of Democrats. With some Ohio residents saying they are neutral, a plurality of independents and Democrats oppose abortion.
Some 59.5 percent of women oppose abortion as do 60.7 percent of men. Hispanics were much more likely to oppose abortion, white Ohio voters were opposed, but black Ohio voters supported abortion more than they opposed it.
Obama voters were less likely (46.6 percent) to oppose abortion than McCain voters (73 percent).
The index is calculated on a 100-point scale based on responses to 11 questions about different aspects of culture and character in Ohio. The Ohio Cultural Index rating is 57 on a 100-point scale. The score is three points lower than the previous rating of 60.2, registered in the survey inaugural release.
The poll was conducted September 23-26, 2009 by Wenzel Strategies using an automated telephone technology.The poll carries a 95% confidence interval and a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points.
Related web sites:
Ohio Right to Life – https://www.ohiolife.org
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