The vast majority of Americans continue to support restrictions on abortion, even as Democrats and the media try to make the issue appear less divided than it actually it is.
A new poll from Marist, a mainstream polling firm, and commissioned by Catholic fraternal organization the Knights of Columbus shows Americans support many restrictions on abortions, including late-term abortion and taxpayer funding of the procedure.
The poll found 78 percent of respondents wishing to limit abortion to the first trimester, including 62 percent of respondents who identified as pro-choice. Eighty-five percent of African-Americans and 84 percent of Latinos also agreed with such a limitation on abortion.
In addition, 62 percent of Americans polled oppose taxpayer funding for abortion, including 65 percent of African-Americans, 61 percent of Latinos and 45 percent of those who identified as pro-choice.
As with most polls, the devil is in the details. Some of the questions seemed to be asked in such a way to elicit the response desired by the KoC. For example, respondents were asked if they supported or opposed “requiring all abortion clinics to meet the same standards as other outpatient surgery centers.” No doubt those on the left would reword that question to stress onerous regulations that would deny women a simple medical procedure and force them to take risky alternatives.
Asked if health careproviders should be “legally required to perform or provide insurance coverage for abortions,” 56 percent believed they should not. This included 61 percent of Latinos and 41 percent of those identifying as pro-choice. Again, had this question been asked from a different perspective, such as asking if healthcare providers should be required to save a woman’s life with a medically necessary abortion, the results might have been reversed.
It’s a reminder that polls can always be manipulated, but the questions about limiting late-term abortion have held steady regardless of who has conducted the poll. Gallup has also previously found Americans overwhelmingly opposed to late-term abortion.
The topic of abortion clearly still deeply divides Americans, but the suggestion that Republicans are anti-woman when a majority of Americans agree with them on many abortion issues is wrong.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
