By Mary Wisniewski
Jan 16 (Reuters) - Most Americans remain opposed to
overturning the controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe
v. Wade, which 40 years ago legalized abortion at least in the
first three months of pregnancy, according to a poll released
Wednesday.
The poll by the Pew Research Center found that 63 percent of
Americans believe that Roe v. Wade should not be completely
overturned, compared to 29 percent who believe it should be.
These opinions have changed little from surveys conducted in
2003 and 1992, Pew reported.
Michael Dimock, director of the Pew Research Center for the
People and the Press, said it is uncommon to see so little
change in attitudes on a controversial issue.
"They really haven't changed a lot over the years which is
kind of interesting because a lot of other social issues have
changed a lot, gay marriage being the most notable example,"
said Dimock.
He noted that opinions on issues such as gay marriage
sometimes have a sharp generational divide, with younger people
more likely to favor it, so national feelings change over time.
But the abortion issue shows only modest generational
differences, and no gender gap.
Those most likely to favor upholding Roe v. Wade at 69
percent are the "baby boomers" aged 50-64, who were children or
young adults when the case was decided on Jan. 22, 1973. This
group was followed by those 18-29 years old, who favored
upholding the decision by 68 percent.
NARAL Pro-Choice America, a national abortion rights group,
said the data confirms what NARAL has found in its own research.
"This poll is a reminder that the public clearly agrees, and
has done so for decades," said Tarek Rizek, communications
director for NARAL.
Joseph Scheidler, prominent abortion opponent and national
director of the Pro-Life Action League, said opinions about
abortion have changed since 1973 because of advances like
ultrasound, which allow a better understanding of fetal life.
"I don't worry much about these polls..." said Scheidler. "I
think a majority of Americans prefer to be called pro-life." He
said knocking down Roe v. Wade - which would return the issue to
the states - is not as important as educating people on "the
great evil" of abortion.
The Pew poll also found that 53 percent of the U.S. public
say the issue of abortion is not that important compared to
other issues - the first time that number has been over 50
percent. Dimock said this may reflect Americans' current
preoccupation with issues such as the national debt and gun
control.
There are still wide religious differences over whether to
overturn Roe v. Wade and the morality of abortion, the poll
found. White evangelical Protestants are the only religious
group in which a majority - 54 percent - favors overturning the
decision.
Large percentages of white mainline Protestants (76
percent), black Protestants (65 percent) and white Catholics (63
percent) say the ruling should not be overturned.
U.S. Roman Catholic Bishops called for nine days of prayer
and penance starting Saturday to mark the Roe v. Wade
anniversary. In their press release, the bishops asked for
prayers for "healing and conversion" for elected officials who
support abortion and for all people whose lives have been
affected by it.
The Pew poll also shows that 47 percent of Americans say
they believe it is morally wrong to have an abortion. These
opinions have changed only modestly in recent years.
Younger people are less likely to know what Roe v. Wade was
about. While most respondents over 30 knew Roe v. Wade dealt
with abortion, only 44 percent of those under 30 knew this, the
poll found. The question over whether the decision should be
overturned was asked after it was defined to respondents.
The poll was based on interviews with a national sample of
1,502 adults, aged 18 or over, with a margin of error of plus or
minus 2.9 percentage points.
Full results of the poll can be seen here.
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