May 19, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States believe pregnancy termination should remain a constitutional right, according to a poll by Ayres, McHenry and Associates for the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the Judicial Confirmation Network. 55 per cent of respondents think the Roe versus Wade Supreme Court decision should not be overturned.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States believe pregnancy termination should remain a constitutional right, according to a poll by Ayres, McHenry and Associates for the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the Judicial Confirmation Network. 55 per cent of respondents think the Roe versus Wade Supreme Court decision should not be overturned.

The 1973 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."

On May 16, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is seeking the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 2008, discussed his views on abortion, saying, "I think we can agree that we should seek reductions in abortion. I ultimately do believe in a woman's right of choice, but I think that there are ways in which we can reduce abortions."

Kansas senator Sam Brownback disagreed with allowing abortions in cases of rape, saying, "Will that make the woman in a better situation if that's what takes place? I don't think so, and I think we can explain it when we look at it for what it is, a beautiful child of a loving God that we ought to protect in all circumstances."

Polling Data

In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled in Roe versus Wade that there is a constitutional right to abortion. Would you like the Supreme Court to overturn Roe versus Wade, or not? Do you feel that way strongly, or just somewhat?

Yes, strongly	28%
Yes, somewhat	6%
No, somewhat	13%
No, strongly	42%
Don't know / Refused	11%

Source: Ayres, McHenry and Associates / Ethics and Public Policy Center / Judicial Confirmation Network
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 American adults, conducted from Apr. 26 to May 2, 2007. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

Complete Poll (PDF)

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