Tag Archives: Poll

News

New Gallup poll: 50% of Americans now pro-life – only 41% are pro-choice

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I found this article at Secondhand Smoke. (H/T ECM and J Warner Wallace)

Here are the poll results:

The 41% of Americans who now identify themselves as “pro-choice” is down from 47% last July and is one percentage point below the previous record low in Gallup trends, recorded in May 2009. Fifty percent now call themselves “pro-life,” one point shy of the record high, also from May 2009.

[…]Since 2001, the majority of Republicans have consistently taken the pro-life position, but by a gradually increasing margin over “pro-choice.” That gap expanded further this year, with the percentage of Republicans identifying as pro-life increasing to 72% from 68% last May, and those identifying as pro-choice dropping to 22% from 28%. Still, Republicans’ current views are similar to those found in 2009.

[…]The percentage of political independents identifying as pro-choice is 10 points lower today than in May 2011, while the percentage pro-life is up by six points. As a result, pro-lifers now outnumber pro-choicers among this important swing political group for only the second time since 2001, with the first occurring in 2009.

[…]Democrats’ views on abortion have changed the least over the past 12 years, with roughly 60% calling themselves pro-choice and about a third pro-life. Democrats’ identification as pro-choice was above this range in May 2011, but has returned to about 60% in the current poll.

Why are the pro-lifers winning?

Wesley J. Smith explains:

When you look at the poll, the pro life side has been the plurality/majority view for several years.  The question is why? Here’s my take:

  • The pro life movement has science on their side. A fetus is a human being in the gestating stage. He or she isn’t a parasite nor a tissue mass.
  • The pro choice side became too strident and absolutist–as in fighting the bans on partial birth abortion and insisting on making abortion available to minors without parental consent.
  • Just as in the gay rights issue, familiarity breeds acceptance.  Many people know pro life activists and understand they are not the kind of uncaring people the media and pro choice activists like to paint.
  •  America remains a generally religious nation. Not all pro lifers are religious, to be sure, but the power of faith as a motivator on this issue can’t be denied.

Saying one is pro life isn’t the same thing as saying abortion should be outlawed.  But it does show, I think, that those who work indefatigable to value the lives of the unborn are respectable and mainstream.  And that means the incremental approach activists have taken on this issue for decades is slowly working.

I think that pro-lifers, especially groups like CCBR and LTI who are able to do two-hour formal debates, do the most good. Show the pictures of abortions does a lot of good. When you see red blood next to a miniature human, you know that abortion is wrong. It is wrong to spill the blood of another human being without justification. And what possible justification could there be for hurting a little baby?

News

Alison Redford opposes conscience rights for pro-life doctors and nurses

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Map of Canada
Map of Canada

I’m monitoring the exciting election in Alberta between radical leftist Alison Redford and moderate conservative/libertarian Danielle Smith. The Progressive Conservative party has been dominating the province for years, but their new leader Alison Redford is a liberal extremist on social policy and fiscal policy.

Take a look at Alison Redford’s radically pro-abortion and pro-gay-marriage views:

In a list of party principles approved at the Wildrose annual general meeting last year, members voted in a clause that reads: “Wildrose members believe the Government of Alberta should…implement legislation protecting the ‘conscience rights’ of health-care professionals.” Ms. Smith also told the Rocky Mountain Civil Liberties Association that “Wildrose will ensure conscience rights for marriage commissioners and health professionals,” according to a summary of candidate positions published by the association in August, 2011.

Ms. Redford, who opposes the notion of conscience rights, eagerly responded to a reporter when asked about it Wednesday, hoping it will cast the Wildrose as a hard-right party and win back supporters.

“I was very frightened to hear the discussion today.… I certainly respect people’s personal beliefs, but I believe in a province where we have to treat individuals with dignity and respect. We have to live in a community where we respect diversity and we understand that everyone feels safe and included,” Ms. Redford said.

She said doctors would be expected to prescribe birth control and perform abortions, regardless of personal beliefs, to ensure that “all of the unique families in this province have the opportunity to know that when they’re accessing services, they can trust those services can be provided. And when they take on professional responsibilities, I expect them to be able to meet those professional responsibilities. I think it’s a critical discussion in this election.”

[…]The Wildrose says conscience rights cases will be among those heard by justices in a new Human Rights Division of the Alberta provincial court. Anyone filing a complaint and needing legal aid will be referred to a roster of “human rights advocates.”

These advocates will have specialized training in human rights law and be in good standing with the Law Society of Alberta. The division will be funded with money currently used for the Alberta Human Rights Commission, which Wildrose plans to scrap.

Danielle Smith’s view is a moderate view – it’s more moderate than Redford’s leftist view.

On fiscal issues, Danielle Smith has proposed returning some of the money from budget surpluses to taxpayers, but the leftist Alison Redford opposes that.

Take a look at this column.

Excerpt:

[…]…Alison Redford wondered whether or not Albertans could be trusted to spend such bonuses wisely.

Redford and the tut-tutting experts reveal one thing with their criticisms: They believe all money belongs to governments and you and I should be grateful for whatever crumbs we are permitted to keep. If you cannot demonstrate you have a higher purpose for the money you earn than the schemes proposed by politicians, bureaucrats and academics, then you have no right to complain if government taxes away giant gobs of your income to spend on the “public good.”

On the other hand, the proposal by Smith to send each Albertan a cheque whenever the provincial budget is in surplus is an indication that Wildrose believes what you earn is yours and government should tax away only as much as is necessary to fund essential services. If a government finds itself with more money on its hands than it needs to cover the spending it budgeted for in a given year, it should be obliged to return the overage to taxpayers rather than rub its hands with glee and look for new ways to spend.

Again, Danielle’s view is a moderate view – it only returns money to taxpayers if there is a surplus. Redford, on the other hand, has been spending like a drunken sailor since she took office, and most Albertans I know think that tax increases are just around the corner.

The latest poll shows the Wildrose with a 13-point lead over the Alison Redford’s leftist Progressive Conservative party.

Details:

Wildrose: 43% (+10)

PC: 30% (-6)

Danielle Smith: 56% approve, 32% disapprove (57-30 in Calgary, 50-42 in Edmonton)

Alison Redford: 48% approve, 43% disapprove (45-45 in Calgary, 45-43 in Edmonton)

You can watch an interview about the election here.

News

New York Times: Santorum has support of Republican women

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From the fifth-column New York Times, of all places.

Excerpt:

There is no mistaking the bond that Mr. Santorum has with conservative women — particularly married women — a group that has formed a core of his support since the primaries began in January. He has handily carried the votes of women in primaries that he has won, including those in Mississippi and Alabama. And where he has lost, in Arizona, South Carolina and Illinois, he has enjoyed a higher level of support among women than men.

[…]“He doesn’t give up, so I’m not giving up,” said Kay Verdi, 75, a mother of six from Belle Chasse, La., who spends much her time trying to persuade others to vote for Mr. Santorum. “I’ve never felt as strong about a candidate as I do for Santorum. I’ve usually had to pick the lesser of two evils when I vote. Not this time.”

How did Ms. Verdi explain the attraction?

“I like that he’s been married only once, and that he has character and faith; that’s what touches me,” she said.

The Web site ricksantorum.com attracts more women than men, 60 percent of its visitors, a larger share than for the Web sites of other candidates, according to Nielsen ratings that were released last week. Among other things, there may be an empathy factor at work: A New York Times/CBS News poll taken this month found that 73 percent of Republican female voters said Mr. Santorum understood the needs and problems of people like them, compared with 52 percent who said the same about Mr. Romney.

My previous post also noted that Republican women support Santorum more than any other candidate.