July 24, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More adults in the United States believe pregnancy termination should remain accessible, according to a poll by the New York Times and CBS News. 41 per cent of respondents believe abortion should be generally available to those who want it, up two points since May.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More adults in the United States believe pregnancy termination should remain accessible, according to a poll by the New York Times and CBS News. 41 per cent of respondents believe abortion should be generally available to those who want it, up two points since May.

Conversely, 34 per cent of respondents believe abortion should be available but under stricter limits than it is now—down three points in two months—while 22 per cent think the procedure should not be permitted.

A Supreme Court ruling in 1973 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."

Yesterday, Republican Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo, who is seeking the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 2008, defended his record on abortion, saying, "No one can attack me for my position on life; no one. I have been pro-life since I was in the state legislature 30 years ago."

Tancredo also criticized Republican Kansas senator Sam Brownback—whose campaign issued phone messages to Iowa voters criticizing Tancredo for accepting contributions from a physician who helped found the Northern Michigan Planned Parenthood Association—declaring, "Sam and I have been friends for several years and he is well aware of my lifelong commitment to the unborn. Yet he has approved the use of despicable and deceitful campaign tactics in an effort to deliberately mislead the voters of Iowa concerning my record and my commitment to life."

Polling Data

Which of these comes closest to your view? Abortion should be generally available to those who want it; Abortion should be available but under stricter limits than it is now; or Abortion should not be permitted?

	Jul. 2007	May 2007	Mar. 2007
Generally available	41%	39%	34%
Stricter limits	34%	37%	41%
Not be permitted	22%	21%	23%
Not sure	2%	2%	2%

Source: New York Times / CBS News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,554 American adults, conducted from Jul. 9 to Jul. 17, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.