Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research

Abortion Continues to Divide Views in the U.S.

January 25, 2007

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in the United States are split over the adequate guidelines for pregnancy termination, according to a poll by CBS News. 31 per cent of respondents believe abortion should be permitted in all cases, while 16 per cent would place greater restrictions on the practice.

Conversely, 30 per cent of respondents think abortion should be allowed only in cases of rape, incest or to save a woman's life, and 12 per cent would only consent to the procedure to save a woman's life.

The 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling gave American women the right to an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy, and regulated the procedure during the second trimester "in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health." In the third trimester, a state can choose to proscribe abortion, except when necessary "for the preservation of the life or health of the mother."

Earlier this month, Republican Kansas senator Sam Brownback—a possible presidential candidate in 2008—discussed his views on abortion, saying, "We recognize a tragedy of life in Roe v. Wade, but that tragedy will not always stand."

Polling Data

What is your personal feeling about abortion?

Jan. 2007

Apr. 2006

It should be permitted in all cases

31%

29%

It should be permitted, but subject to
greater restrictions than it is now

16%

17%

It should be permitted only in cases such
as rape, incest and to save the woman's life

30%

33%

It should only be permitted
to save the woman's life

12%

14%

It should not be permitted at all

5%

4%

Don't know / No answer

6%

3%

Source: CBS News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,168 American adults, conducted from Jan. 18 to Jan. 21, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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