Though abortion is hotly debated among presidential candidates, a majority of Americans remain “of two minds” on the issue, according to a new review of poll data.
Conflicting opinions in America on abortion result from a simultaneous respect for life and desire for autonomous decision-making, wrote Karlyn Bowman, a resident fellow of the American Enterprise Institute, in a January article reviewing the Gallup polling information.
“Americans do not want to outlaw abortion, because they value individual choice,” wrote Bowman. “They are, however, willing to see some restrictions put on its use because of their reverence for life, and they don’t want abortion to be undertaken simply for convenience.”
In an April 1999 Gallup poll, 48 percent of Americans said they are pro-choice and 42 percent pro-life. But a majority (55 percent) said they want abortion to be legal only under certain circumstances. Less than a fourth (16 percent) said it should be illegal in all situations, while 27 percent said abortion should be legal in all situations.
Acceptable circumstances cited by the majority “include cases of rape, incest or when the mother or fetus’s health is seriously endangered,” said Bowman.
While abortion divides Americans, most voters (51 percent) said it is not a major issue in choosing a candidate. (ABP)
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