Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research

Most Americans Would Retain Abortion Rights

December 17, 2004

(Angus Reid Consultants - CPOD Global Scan) - Many adults in the United States believe pregnancy termination should remain permissible, according to a poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 57 per cent of respondents say abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

A Supreme Court ruling in 1973 gave American women the right to an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. U.S. president George W. Bush signed a federal restriction on late term abortions in November 2003, but the law was immediately challenged by U.S. District judge Richard Kopf, who issued a temporary restraining order.

Many Americans think Bush should appoint Supreme Court justices who would sustain abortion rights. 50 per cent of respondents say the president should nominate justices who would uphold the Roe v. Wade ruling.

Polling Data

Do you think abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases or illegal in all cases?

 

Dec. 2004

Jul. 2004

Legal in all cases

16%

18%

Legal in most cases

41%

35%

Illegal in most cases

26%

27%

Illegal in all cases

13%

13%

The 1973 Supreme Court ruling called Roe. v. Wade made abortion in the first three months of pregnancy legal. Do you think President Bush should nominate Supreme Court justices who would uphold the Roe. V. Wade decision, or nominate Supreme Court justices who would overturn the Roe v. Wade decision?

Uphold

50%

Overturn

34%

Source: Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,529 registered American voters, conducted from Dec. 7 to Dec. 12, 2004. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.

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