Buried in the Washington Post is this small item: Poll: 51% Say They Are Pro-Life:
A Gallup poll found for the first time that a majority of Americans identify themselves as pro-life.
A May survey, just released, asked the question: With respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro-choice or pro-life?
In 1995, 33 percent of respondents identified themselves as pro-life and 56 percent as pro-choice. But in May, 51 percent said they were pro-life and 42 percent said pro-choice.
Just a year ago, 50 percent of Americans surveyed identified themselves as pro-choice and 44 percent as pro-life.
We reported these findings before, back in May, but I guess the study has just been formally published.
What is striking here, though, is the progress and the rapidity of the shift: In 1995, 33% were pro-life; in 2008, 44%; in 2009, 51%!
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This is great news! Only 49% of the population to go.
I’m somewhat skeptical because of my own dealings with some people who claim to be “pro-life”. I guess the key-word here in “identity”. The study says that a certain percentage “identifies” themselves as pro-life. Does that really mean that they are? I know numerous people who say that they are “pro-life” while at the same time arguing that abortion should still be a legal option (and not just under circumstances in which the mother might be in danger).
There’s a new breed of pro-choice advocates. It’s not the crazy feminazis that we should worry about. No, we should worry about the condescending, pitying pro-choicers who claim to sympathize with our cause, but claim that we are tragically short-sighted. (insert a “those poor, uneducated peasants” chuckle here). These are the people who pose the biggest threat to the pro-life movement.
As a pro-choice friend of mine said, “Of course we’re pro-life! Who isn’t pro-life?!?”
Much as I hope this represents a permanent shift, there’s a lot more reason to be skeptical like Seth (@3) if you view the poll page at Gallup.com.
After all, what Veith sees as “a rapidity in shift” could equally have been described as virtually unchanged between 1997 and 2008. Preeeetty darn flat graph there. To see such a jump like this is odd, given that I can’t think of any reason for such a change. Can you?
Still, perusing those graphs on Gallup.com is interesting. The shift seems to have come from moderate Republicans.