Support for Unrestricted Abortion Declines

                                                                                                                       Vol. XI, No. 2, February 1998

A Gallup poll taken for USA Today and CNN Jan. 16-18 showed only 23 per cent of Americans support legal abortion in all circumstances. A survey performed for the Associated Press the week before found similar results. That is an 8 percent drop from a Gallup poll in

September 1995. From 1975 to '95, Gallup surveys showed an increase in support for abortion in all circumstances. The latest Gallup poll showed 58 percent believe abortion should be legal in some circumstances, while 17 percent support making abortion unlawful in all circumstances. A New York Times/CBS News survey also conducted in early January revealed a drop-off in support for abortion under certain circumstances. For example, the previous Times/CBS poll on abortion in 1989 showed 37 percent of Americans said a woman should be able to have an abortion if her pregnancy would interrupt her career, while 56 percent said she should not. In the 1998 survey, only 25 percent said yes to such a scenario, while 70 percent said no.

A Baselice and Associates survey conducted in mid-January 1998 for the U.S. Catholic Conference found the number of Americans who identify themselves as pro-life is 42 percent, an increase from 39 percent in 1995. Those identifying themselves as "pro-choice" decreased to 45 percent from 49 percent in '95. The poll for the Catholic Conference also showed 53 percent would ban abortions, with the exception of those because of rape, incest, and endangerment to the mother's life. This would prohibit 97 to 99 percent of abortions, according to the Catholic Conference. Gallup polls for USA Today and CNN revealed the greatest shifts are among liberals and women. Liberals supporting abortion under all circumstances declined from 52 percent in 1994-95 to 37 percent in 1996-98. Among Democratic women, support fell from 40 percent to 26. Among liberal to moderate Republican women, it dropped from 40 percent to 25. [BP]