WASHINGTON — Less than four months into the Presidency of Barack Obama, opinion polls are finding that Americans are taking a dramatic turn towards opposing abortion.
A poll conducted May 7-10 as part of the annual Gallup Values and Beliefs survey found that a majority of Americans (51 percent) described themselves as “pro-life” with respect to the abortion issue, while only 42 percent said they were “pro-choice.” Carol Owens, coordinator of the diocesan Respect Life Office, hopes that this recent Gallup Poll indicating a greater opposition to abortion, can be attributed to education efforts and creating a greater awareness of the seriousness of abortion.
“If one can rely on the recent findings and upward shift in those who identify themselves as pro-life, maybe it is because people are becoming more aware of the abortion issue, the risks involved regarding women’s physical, emotional and spiritual health and the ultimate deliberate taking of an innocent child’s life,” said Owens. “Young people, especially, are embracing the gift of life more these days which was evident at this year’s March for Life that many more young people attended.”
The results of the poll were made public May 15. It marked the first time since Gallup began asking the question in 1995 that more respondents said they were pro-life than pro-choice, and was a shift of 7-8 percentage points from a year earlier, when 50 percent said they were pro-choice and 44 percent said they were pro-life.
Obama has shown support of laws against the dignity of the human person yet to be born, approving the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for overseas abortions, removing conscious protections for pro-life doctors and nurses, and by supporting the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which declares that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child.
“More and more, people need to be educated on the more positive and healthy choices a woman can make instead of choosing to take the life of an innocent child and put her own life to risk at the same time,” Owens said.
A separate Gallup Poll Daily survey conducted May 12-13 found that 50 percent of Americans described themselves as pro-life and 43 percent as pro-choice.
