Only a Small Majority Still Supports Roe v. Wade and Opposition is at its Highest in 20 Years

The likelihood of changes in the Supreme Court during the second Bush term make it very possible that it will return to the abortion issue and perhaps reconsider the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

A new Harris Poll finds that Roe vs. Wade now enjoys the support of only a 52 to 47 percent majority of all U.S. adults compared to a larger 57 to 41 percent majority in 1998. And the 47 percent who now oppose it is the highest number to do so since 1985.

These are some of the results of a Harris Poll of 1,012 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone by Harris Interactive^® between February 8 and 13, 2005.

Other interesting findings in the survey include:

• A 55 percent majority favors legal abortion in some circumstances but not all. Nearly a quarter (23%) favor legal abortion in all circumstances, and 21 percent oppose abortion in all circumstances.
• A modest majority (55%) favors either no change in the law (42%) or favors laws making it easier to get an abortion (13%). Two in five (42%) favor laws making it more difficult.
• A 60 to 38 percent majority favors legal abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. Larger majorities oppose legal abortions in the second (72%) and third (86%) trimesters of pregnancy.

Abortion is, obviously a polarizing issue with the supporters of Roe vs. Wade still enjoying slender majority support. While pro-lifers will note the gains they have made they should also note that relatively few people favor banning abortion completely.

"In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that states laws which made it illegal for a woman to have an abortion up to three months of pregnancy were unconstitutional, and that the decision on whether a woman should have an abortion up to three months of pregnancy should be left to the woman and her doctor to decide. In general, do you favor or oppose this part of the U.S. Supreme Court decision making abortions up to three months of pregnancy legal?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"The two main groups in the abortion debate are the so-called pro-life group, which opposes abortion, and the so-called pro-choice group, which supports women’s right to have an abortion. Which one of these groups do you tend to support more?"

Base: All Adults

* Less than 0.5%

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 2B

ATTITUDE TOWARD ROE VS. WADE – BY PRO-LIFE AND PRO-CHOICE

"In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that states laws which made it illegal for a woman to have an abortion up to three months of pregnancy were unconstitutional, and that the decision on whether a woman should have an abortion up to three months of pregnancy should be left to the woman and her doctor to decide. In general, do you favor or oppose this part of the U.S. Supreme Court decision making abortions up to three months of pregnancy legal?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"In general, do you favor permitting a woman who wants one to have an abortion in all circumstances, some circumstances or no circumstances?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"Do you favor laws that would make it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion, favor laws that would make it easier to get an abortion or should no change be made to existing abortion laws?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"In general, do you think that abortion should be legal or illegal during the following stages of pregnancy?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

The Harris Poll^® was conducted by telephone within the United States between February 8 and 13, 2005 among a nationwide cross section of 1,012 adults aged 18 and over, of whom 442 identify themselves as "Pro-Life" and 512 identify themselves as "Pro-Choice." Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults, number of voice/telephone lines in the household, region and size of place were weighted where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population.

In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results of the overall sample have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Sampling error for the "Pro-Life" and "Pro-Choice" sample results is plus or minus 5 percentage points. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (nonresponse), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors.

J23283

Q550, Q555, Q560, Q565, Q571