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    Abortion and Birth Control                         See also: Supreme Court


Polls listed chronologically. Data are from nationwide surveys of Americans 18 & older.    

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NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Neil Newhouse (R). Sept. 6-8, 2008. N=860 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 3.3.

.

"Which comes closest to your view on abortion: abortion should always be legal; should be legal most of the time; should be made illegal except in cases of rape, incest and to save the mother's life; or abortion should be made illegal without any exceptions?"

.

Always
Legal
Legal
Most of
the Time
Illegal
With a Few
Exceptions
Illegal
Without
Exceptions
Unsure
% % % % %

9/6-8/08

25 24 37 10 4

 

CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll. Aug. 29-31, 2008. N=1,031 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

.

"With respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro-choice or pro-life?"

.

Pro-choice Pro-life Unsure About
Terms (vol.)
Mixed/Both/
Neither (vol.)
Unsure

%

%

%

%

%

8/29-31/08

53

44

2

2

-

5/4-6/07

45

50

2

2

1


 

ABC News/Washington Post Poll. Aug. 19-22, 2008. N=1,108 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3. Fieldwork by TNS. RV = registered voters

.

"Do you think abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases, or illegal in all cases?"

.

Legal in
All Cases
Legal in
Most Cases
Illegal in
Most Cases
Illegal in
All Cases
Unsure
% % % % %
8/19-22/08 22 32 26 18 3
6/12-15/08 18 35 28 16 3
1/9-12/08 21 36 25 15 3

12/16-19/07

20 35 25 18 2

12/6-9/07

18 35 27 17 3
10/29 - 11/1/07 19 36 27 16 2
7/18-21/07 23 34 28 14 2

2/22-25/07

16 39 31 12 2

12/15-18/05

17 40 27 13 3

4/21-24/05

20 36 27 14 3
12/04 21 34 25 17 3
5/04 23 31 23 20 2
1/03 23 34 25 17 2
8/01 22 27 28 20 3
6/01 22 31 23 20 4
1/01 21 38 25 14 1
9/00 RV 20 35 25 16 3
7/00 20 33 26 17 4
9/99 20 37 26 15 2
3/99 21 34 27 15 3
7/98 19 35 29 13 4
8/96 22 34 27 14 3
6/96 24 34 25 14 2

 

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey. July 31-Aug. 10, 2008. N=2,905 adults nationwide. MoE ± 2. Aug. 2007 survey conducted by Schulman, Ronca & Bucuvalas.

.

"Do you think abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases, or illegal in all cases?" Options rotated

.

Legal in
All Cases
Legal in
Most Cases
Illegal in
Most Cases
Illegal in
All Cases
Unsure

%

%

%

%

%

7/31 - 8/10/08

17

37

26

15

5

6/18-29/08

19

38

24

13

6

11/07

18

33

29

15

5

10/17-23/07

21

32

24

15

8

8/1-18/07

17

35

26

17

5

2/16 - 3/14/07

15

30

30

20

5


 

Time Poll conducted by Abt SRBI. July 31-Aug. 4, 2008. N=808 likely voters nationwide. MoE ± 3.

.

"Which of these positions best represents your views about abortion? A woman should be able to get an abortion if she wants one in the first three months of pregnancy, no matter what the reason. Abortion should be legal ONLY in certain circumstances, such as when a woman's health is endangered or when the pregnancy results from rape or incest. Abortion should be illegal in all circumstances, even if the mother's life is in danger." Options rotated

.

Always Legal in
First 3 Months
Legal in Certain
Circumstances
Illegal in All
Circumstances
No Answer/
Unsure
 
% % % %  
7/31 - 8/4/08 46 40 10 4  

.

"What if a presidential candidate took a position on abortion that was different from your own? Would you still consider voting for him because of his position on other issues, or would you not vote for him under any circumstances?"

.

Still Consider Not Vote For No Answer/
Unsure
   
% % %    
7/31 - 8/4/08 73 20 6    
6/18-25/08 71 23 5    

 

Quinnipiac University Poll. July 8-13, 2008. N=1,783 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 2.3.

.

"Do you think abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases or illegal in all cases?"

.

Always
Legal
Usually
Legal
Usually
Illegal
Always
Illegal
Unsure
% % % % %
7/8-13/08 19 38 24 14 5
8/7-13/07 21 36 24 13 6
4/25 - 5/1/07 17 37 26 13 7

11/28 - 12/4/05

19 38 25 14 4

7/21-25/05

20 37 24 12 7

5/18-23/05

18 37 27 14 5

3/2-7/05

19 35 24 15 6
12/04 16 41 26 13 5
7/04 18 35 27 13 6
5/04 20 35 26 14 6

.

"In general, do you agree or disagree with the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that established a woman's right to an abortion?"

.

Agree Disagree Unsure
% % %
7/8-13/08 63 33 5

8/7-13/07

62 32 6

12/05

63 32 5

7/05

65 30 6

5/05

63 33 5

 

Time Poll conducted by Abt SRBI. June 18-25, 2008. N=805 likely voters nationwide. MoE ± 3.

.

"Which of these positions best represents your views about abortion? A woman should be able to get an abortion if she wants one, no matter what the reason, up until the time the fetus is viable, that is, can live on its own. Abortion should only be legal in certain circumstances, such as when a woman's health is endangered or when the pregnancy results from rape or incest. Abortion should be illegal in all circumstances, even if the mother's life is in danger."

.

Legal Until
Fetus Viable
Sometimes
Legal
Never
Legal
No Answer/
Unsure
 
% % % %  
6/18-25/08 43 41 10 6  

 

Gallup Poll. May 8-11, 2008. N=1,017 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

           

.

"Do you think abortions should be legal under any circumstances, legal only under certain circumstances, or illegal in all circumstances?"

           

.

    Legal
Under Any
Legal Only
Under Certain
Illegal
In All
Unsure  
   

%

%

%

%

 
 

5/8-11/08

28

54

17

2

 
 

5/10-13/07

26

55

18

1

 
 

5/8-11/06

30

53

15

2

 
 

11/11-13/05

26

56

16

2

 
 

6/24-26/05

24

55

20

1

 
 

5/2-5/05

23

53

22

2

 
 

3/21-23/05

23

55

20

2

 
 

5/2-4/04

24

56

19

1

 
 

10/03

26

55

17

2

 
 

5/03

23

57

19

1

 
 

1/03

24

57

18

1

 
 

5/02

25

51

22

2

 
 

3/02

27

53

19

1

 
 

2/02

26

54

18

2

 
 

8/01

26

56

17

1

 
 

5/01

26

58

15

1

 
 

3/01

26

51

18

5

 
 

4/00

28

51

19

2

 
 

1/00

26

56

15

3

 
 

5/99

27

55

16

2

 
 

1/98

23

59

17

1

 
 

11/97

26

55

17

2

 
 

8/97

22

61

15

2

 
 

9/96

24

52

17

7

 
 

7/96

25

58

15

2

 
 

4/90

31

53

12

4

 
 

7/80

25

53

18

4

 
 

2/79

22

54

19

5

 
 

12/77

22

55

19

4

 
 

4/75

21

54

22

3

 
           

.

"Thinking about how the abortion issue might affect your vote for major offices, would you only vote for a candidate who shares your views on abortion, or consider a candidate's position on abortion as just one of many important factors, or not see abortion as a major issue?" Options rotated

           

.

    Must Share
Views
One of Many
Factors
Not a
Major Issue
Unsure  
    % % % %  
 

5/8-11/08

13

49

37

2

 
 

5/10-13/07

16 59 23 3  
 

10/14-16/04

17 46 35 2  
 

5/2-4/04

14 45 39 2  
 

5/10-14/01

20 51 27 2  
 

3/30 - 4/2/00

15 49 33 3  
 

4/30 - 5/2/99

19 51 27 3  
 

7/25-28/96

16 51 30 3  
 

7/18-21/96

18 48 30 4  

 

Associated Press-Ipsos poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs. Oct. 23-25, 2007. N=1,004 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.1.

.

"Which would you prefer for the public schools in your community? Provide birth control only to those students who have the consent of their parents. Provide birth control to all students who want it. Not provide birth control to any student."

.

Provide if
Have Consent
Provide
To All
Do Not
Provide
Unsure

%

%

%

%

10/23-25/07

37

30

30

3

.

"Do you think making birth control available for teenagers would not encourage them to have sexual intercourse earlier or encourage them to have sexual intercourse earlier than they would have?"

.

Not
Encourage
Encourage