Opposition to Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill Increasing as Final Version Looms
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 11, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Opposition to the pro-abortion health care bill in Congress is increasing now that the Christmas holiday has concluded and lawmakers in the House and Senate are working on merging the two very different bills they each approved.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows just 40% of voters nationwide favor the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats.
Fifty-five percent are opposed to the bill and the poll finds those with the most passionate views on either side of the debate strongly opposed to the bill.
As has been the case throughout the debate, those who feel strongly about the issue are more likely to be opposed. Just 19% of voters strongly favor the plan while 45% are strongly opposed.
The 55-40 percentage level of opposition is higher than the 52-42 percentage point opposition in the prior Rasmussen poll conducted just after New Year’s Day.
The new poll finds 86 percent of liberals favor the plan while 82% of conservatives oppose it. Among political moderates, 48% are in favor, and 40% are opposed.
The latest numbers show that 72% of Democrats favor the plan while 83% of Republicans oppose it. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 30% are in support of the plan, and 60% are opposed.
Despite the ongoing public opposition, 69% say it’s at least somewhat likely that the bill will pass. That figure is up four points from a week ago and includes 31% who say passage is very likely.
Most voters favor the ban on abortion coverage for insurance plans that receive federal subsidies that is found in the House bill but not the Senate’s version.
In its prior poll, Rasmussen indicated 53 percent of Americans favor a ban on abortion coverage in any health insurance plan that receives federal subsidies.
The poll finds just 40 percent of respondents are opposed to such a ban in the proposed health care legislation now before Congress.
The figures from the survey show voters who hold the most passionate feelings either way are more strongly opposed to funding with 39 percent saying they are strongly supportive of a ban on tax-funded abortions and just 26 percent opposed to such a ban.
Of those who strongly support the health care bill in Congress, 55 percent oppose a ban on abortion funding but 65 percent of those who strongly oppose the bill favor an abortion funding ban. As evidence of the majority supporting a ban, a plurality of those who somewhat support the health care bill also want an abortion funding ban, at 47-40 percent.
"This dynamic is unique to the abortion issue. On every other part of the plan, there is more support among those who favor the overall legislation than among those who oppose it," Rasmussen explains.
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