New Gallup Poll Finds Majority of Americans are Pro-Life
May 15, 2009, Matthew Cochrane
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For the first time in its polling history, Gallup finds that a majority of Americans now identify themselves as pro-life as opposed to pro-choice on the issue of abortion. In the Gallup Poll conducted earlier this month, 51% of Americans called themselves pro-life and only 42% identified themselves as pro-choice. The Gallup report breaks down the findings even further:
A year ago, Gallup found more women calling themselves pro-choice than pro-life, by 50% to 43%, while men were more closely divided: 49% pro-choice, 46% pro-life. Now, because of heightened pro-life sentiment among both groups, women as well as men are more likely to be pro-life.
Men and women have been evenly divided on the issue in previous years; however, this is the first time in nine years of Gallup Values surveys that significantly more men and women are pro-life than pro-choice.
Social conservatives have been winning the abortion debate for years. When Gallup first began their polling on this issue in 1995, only 33% identified themselves as “pro-life.” In under fifteen years, the American public has shifted by nearly twenty percentage points!
There are lots of reasons for this but one, in particular, stands out: as prenatal science and ultrasound technology has advanced, it has become more and more clear that life begins at conception. Indeed, this claim is no longer even contested among respectable doctors and scientists. Here are just a few of the leading doctors in this field attesting to this fact:
Dr. Hymie Gordon (Mayo Clinic): “By all criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the moment of conception.”
Dr. Micheline Matthews-Roth (Harvard University Medical School): “It is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life begins at conception.”
Dr. Alfred Bongioanni (University of Pennsylvania): “I have learned from my earliest medical education that human life begins at the time of conception.”
Dr. Jerome LeJeune, “the Father of Modern Genetics” (University of Descartes, Paris): “To accept the fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion . . . it is plain experimental evidence.”
Dr. Bernard Nathanson, one of the founders of NARAL and a pioneer of abortion rights in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, became a dedicated pro-life activist after science convinced him of the error of his ways. He wrote about his conversion on this issue in his autobiography, The Hand of God:
I’d have to assert that human life begins even earlier, with the complex process of fertilization – a miracle in chemistry, physics, and molecular biology occurring within the fallopian tube. By the time the fertilized egg, dividing and beginning to organize itself, enters the womb, life has been in action for at least three days…After my exposure to ultrasound, I began to rethink the prenatal phase of life. Gradually, I began to understand that two hundred or three hundred years ago, childhood had not been understood as a special time of in our lives and that in the seventeenth century, children as young as five years old were made to work in factories. There was no recognition of the phenomenon of childhood or of their needs until the last hundred or so years. Adolescence, adulthood, and senescence – they are all bands in the continuing spectrum of life. When I began to study fetology, it dawned on me, finally, that the prenatal nine months are just another band in the spectrum of life.
Nathanson makes it clear that his gradual conversion from abortion doctor to pro-life activist was a “purely empirical event” and had nothing to do with a religious conversion or spiritual epiphany. He simply recognized that modern technology allowed us to know more about life inside the womb than ever before. When he processed this new information and realized its implications, he adjusted his views accordingly. If this was not such a serious issue I would find it amusing that the same liberals who accuse social conservatives of ignoring scientific advances in other realms so blatantly ignore new scientific discoveries on this front. Of course, I use the term “new” loosely here. Ultrasound technology has been around for decades, now, yet much of the “pro-choice” camp still refuses to acknowledge the many things we have learned from it.
Not too long ago, in another blog’s comments, I was debating this issue with someone who was fiercely pro-choice. We finally got to the heart of the argument when we started discussing the viability of the baby in the womb. I asked her when the magical moment was that a fetus turned into a baby. The moment, in her mind, it would change from being the lawful abortion of a fetus to the murdering of an infant child. She answered, “A fetus becomes a baby when it's born. That shouldn't be so hard to figure out.” That sentiment, though all too common amongst abortion advocates, reflects a severe ignorance of the debate at hand and completely ignores the advances science has made in the last thirty years. As Americans who value life, it is our job to make sure our culture understands that life begins at conception, not birth.
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In many ways the findings of this poll are not too surprising. As you point out, the medical, scientific and technological breakthroughs over the last few years have been continuous and dramatic. Coupled with the untiring work of so many pro-life organizations, the groundswell of public opinion has been flowing gently but steadily to the pro-life side for a number of years, now.
As heartening as this all is, I am tempted to say, "So what?" I mean, abortions was forced on us, not by a popular majority of the voting public but by one court case. But, to change it back, it doesn't matter how many people want abortion to end, we now have to get some Supreme Court case to overturn it. Does anyone out there really believe this is going to happen anytime soon?
I just wonder how many more babies are going to have to be killed while we on the pro-life side rejoice over the fact that we now have a majority of the American people on our side. Don't get me wrong; I'm thrilled that pro-life rhetoric and logic and tactics have been so successful. However, unless this translates into the actual rescue of actual babies then it is, indeed, a hollow victory. - Just Sayin'
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Unfortunately, you're right. Barring a series of unlikely events, it is not going to happen soon. Yet there are reasons to be encouraged by this piece of news: 1) As pro-life sentiment grows, it makes it much more likely that pro-life politicians will be elected; 2) As popular opinion shifts, those considering abortions will be influenced by their friends' and family's pro-life beliefs to abstain from getting abortions; and 3) The more popular the pro-life position is the more likely pro-life laws will continue to be passed at both the state level (e.g. mandatory ultrasounds for all considering abortions, etc.) and the Federal level (e.g. banning of partial birth abortions, etc). - Matthew Cochrane
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don't get too excited; nearly 80% say they're in favor of legal abortion of some kind and the poll doesn't break out those who are, as far as they are concerned for themselves, pro life but favor not restricting the right of others to make their own decision. - c
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C!!! You made it to the board!!! I'm happy to see you here...
I understand what you're saying, and I do know a few people that feel that way as well.
It should be noted however that in the breakdown, 51% considered themselves PRO LIFE, as apposed to 42% which identified themselves as PRO CHOICE. - Todd
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"don't get too excited; nearly 80% say they're in favor of legal abortion of some kind"
The important thing to note in this survey is the shift in public opinion. From the report:
"The new results, obtained from Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey, represent a significant shift from a year ago, when 50% were pro-choice and 44% pro-life. Prior to now, the highest percentage identifying as pro-life was 46%, in both August 2001 and May 2002."
The momentum is clearly in the pro-life movement's favor. That was the point of the post. As more and more evidence continues to mount, I am optimistic that that trend will continue.
"the poll doesn't break out those who are, as far as they are concerned for themselves, pro life but favor not restricting the right of others to make their own decision."
Actually, it does. The Gallup poll actually does a good job of breaking down these positions and give more cause for optimism for the pro-life cause. Sixty percent now believe that abortion should be illegal in all circumstances or legal in only a few circumstances. That's a clear majority. As the Gallup report states, "This contrasts with the last four years, when Gallup found a strong tilt of public attitudes in favor of unrestricted abortion."
Again, the point of the post was that we are now experiencing a sizeable shift in public opinion on abortion towards the pro-life cause.
- Matthew Cochrane
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that's usually why I post the flip side of the myopic blog; that 60% is a good number though eventhough it's 80% (a huge number) the other way - c
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so both sides are claiming the "few circumstance" group - c
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thanks Todd; I posted a few as WHCHW - c
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"so both sides are claiming the "few circumstance" group"
Again, it's not about either side claiming that group, it's about the shift in public opinion that's occurring.
That being said, the pro-life movement has traditionally included those who would outlaw abortion in cases of rape, incest and when the mother's life is in danger, and the pro-choice movement has never credibly tried to "claim" that group. - Matthew Cochrane
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sorry dude, once you introduce the evidence, it's fair game - c
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but that would be a red herring as usual - c
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"that 60% is a good number though even though it's 80% (a huge number) the other way"
Besides the grammatical incoherence of this statement, it seems that you are suggesting that this poll revealed that 80% of Americans are pro-choice because they believe that abortios should be allowed in at least some circumstances. This makes no sense. Using this logic, I would be pro-choice because I believe abortions should be allowed when the mother's life is in clear danger. I think you would find that most pro-life activists hold a similar position. To try to say that 80% of Americans are pro-choice based on this knowledge shows an ignorance of the facts. Again, I am not sure that this is what you were saying or not due to the poor grammar of your statement.
"sorry dude, once you introduce the evidence, it's fair game"
Of course it is, but it still deserves and calls for a fair and accurate interpretation - which is that popular opinion is shifting towards pro-life sensibilities. That is the only point of this post. Is popular opinion where I wish it was? No, of course not. Does the pro-life movement still have a lot of work to do? Yes, obviously. But this poll is still a cause for mild optimism among pro-life activists. It is a sign that the tide is beginning to turn. Nothing more; nothing less.
- Matthew Cochrane
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grammar your best herring yet - c
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- c
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