Poll: 86 Percent of U.S. Wants Abortion Restrictions

Friday, July 10, 2009 1:45 PM

The American people continue to move to the pro-life perspective on abortion
according to the latest Moral Compass survey by

the Knights of Columbus and Marist Poll.

The poll mirrored findings of other recent surveys, showing that more
Americans identify as pro-life than as pro-choice, and that the vast
majority of Americans favor restricting abortion.

Among the key findings:

# 86% of Americans would significantly restrict abortion.

# 60% of Americans would limit abortion to cases of rape, incest or to save
the life of a mother - or would not allow it at all.

# 53% of Americans believe abortion does more harm than good to a woman in
the long term.

# 79% of Americans support conscience exemptions on abortion for health care
workers. This includes 64% of those who identify as strongly pro-choice.

# 69% of Americans think that it is appropriate for religious leaders to
speak out on abortion.

# 59% say religious leaders have a key role to play in the abortion debate.

# 80% of Americans believe that laws can protect both the health of the
woman and the life of the unborn. This includes 68% of those who identified
as strongly pro-choice.

Additionally, the data showed that since October nearly every demographic
sub-group had moved toward the pro-life position except for non-practicing
Catholics and men under 45 years of age.

Independents and liberals showed the greatest shift to the pro-life position
since October, while Democrats were slightly less likely to be pro-life now
than they were in October.

"The data shows that the American people are placing an ever increasing
value on human life," said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. "Far from the great
divide that most people think exists when it comes to the abortion debate,
there is actually a great deal of common ground. Most Americans are unhappy
with the unrestricted access to abortion that is the legacy of Roe vs. Wade,
and pundits and elected leaders should take note of the fact that agreement
on abortion need not be limited to the fringes of the debate and issues like
adoption or pre-natal care. The American people have reached a basic
consensus, and that consensus is at odds with the unrestricted access to
abortion that is the legacy of Roe."

The survey of 1,223 Americans was conducted May 28 - 31 and has a margin of
error of +/-3%.

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