Poll: 8 in 10 Americans Favor Abortion Restrictions
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After hundreds of thousands participated in the March for Life, while President Obama celebrated abortion on the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a new poll commissioned by the Knights of Columbus revealed that a whopping 79 percent of Americans are in favor of significantly restricting access to abortion. The numbers, largely unchanged from two years ago, also showed that more than half of Americans take what is considered by many activists to be a pro-life position.

According to the survey, conducted by Marist, virtually eight out of ten Americans said they would not allow abortion after the first trimester of pregnancy — the first three months. Currently abortion is legal across the United States until the third trimester after the Supreme Court struck down restrictions in 1973 in its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.

The poll also found that more than half of Americans — 51 percent — would either ban abortion completely or allow it only in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. Such a policy would prohibit nearly all abortions which occur in the United States today, according to studies showing that some 98 percent of terminated pregnancies are ended for others reason.  

The survey, which included responses from over 1,000 people in the continental United States with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, revealed that about 84 percent of Americans believe the law can protect both the lives of unborn children and the health and lives of mothers. The figure was slightly higher than two years ago, the pro-life Catholic organization explained.   

“Almost four decades after the Supreme Court’s decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, which resulted in the almost totally unrestricted abortion regime of today, these decisions continue to be out of step with the vast majority of Americans,” explained Supreme Knight Carl Anderson of the Knights of Columbus (pictured above left) in a statement.

“Far from being settled law, the inadequacy of the Court’s reasoning on abortion in Roe and Doe is readily apparent to most Americans,” Anderson added in a press release announcing the new poll results. “Once a survey moves beyond the labels of pro-life and pro-choice, we see a fundamental unity among Americans in favor of significant abortion restrictions.”

According to an analysis of the results by LifeNews.com, just 12 percent of Americans agree with President Obama’s position that “abortion should be available to a woman any time she wants one during her entire pregnancy.” Obama, of course, has one of the most radically pro-abortion records among U.S. politicians.

The Marist survey — part of a broader study which will be unveiled sometime next month — was released on January 23 to coincide with the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The date saw hundreds of thousands of pro-life activists participating in the annual “March for Life” from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., and everywhere in between. 

Obama, meanwhile, issued a statement celebrating the alleged “constitutional right” to “choose death,” The New American’s Michael Tennant reported. “As we mark the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we must remember that this Supreme Court decision not only protects a woman’s health and reproductive freedom, but also affirms a broader principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters,” the President wrote, seemingly oblivious to the irony as his signature healthcare legislation — ObamaCare — tramples all over families’ private lives.

Other pro-abortion heavyweights have been on the offensive recently, too. The World Health Organization and the Guttmacher Institute just released a new “study” claiming abortion should be legalized to make it “safe.” Critics of the research and pro-life activists slammed the report as “pro-abortion propaganda.”

But despite the ongoing and massive federal subsidies to Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion provider, pro-lifers are making some progress. More and more legislation across America aimed at reducing the number of abortions is being approved by state governments. Just last year some 460 pro-life bills were introduced in 47 states, according to a study by Americans United for Life.

As the American people become increasingly supportive of protecting the lives of unborn children, the recent trend toward better and stronger pro-life legislation is expected to continue. But as long as Roe v. Wade is allowed to stand, millions of children will keep perishing at the hands of taxpayer-subsidized abortionists. Over 50 million have already died since 1973.   

Related articles:

West Coast, East Coast: Hundreds of Thousands March for Life

On Roe v. Wade’s 39th Anniversary, Obama Celebrates the “Constitutional Right” to Abortion

Guttmacher/WHO Study Is Abortion Propaganda, Pro-Life Leader Says

Pro-Life Group Releases List of Most Pro-Life States

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Religious Groups Vow to Fight Obama’s Contraception Mandate

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