Gallup Poll: Americans Now Pro-Life

Some 51% call themselves pro-life, 42% pro-choice.

SUMMARY: For the first time in the 15 years the Gallup Poll has asked about the subject, a majority of Americans, 51% to 42%, now call themselves pro-life as opposed to pro-choice. The survey, conducted May 7-10 and based on 1,015 phone interviews, showed a significant change from just one year ago when 50% of Americans said they were pro-choice and 44% pro-life.

Recently a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center also reported a sharp decline in the pro-choice position. The percent of those saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases fell from 54% to 46% since August.

In the Gallup survey, 23% said abortion should be illegal in all circumstances, 22% legal under any circumstance, and 53% said legal only under certain circumstances. Men were pro-life by 54% to 39% while women chose the pro-life label 49% to 44%. Gallup said the pro-life position increased across Christian religious affiliations. Republicans showed a jump of 10% in the pro-life position while there was no noticeable change among Democrats.

Pro-life activists have been elated by the results of the two polls, especially after the election of President Obama who is considered strongly pro-choice. "Ironically, Obama's radical abortion polices and nominees may have helped make America more pro-life," said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America. The Gallup analysis seemed to agree with this point, saying Obama's policies may have pushed America's understanding of what pro-choice means to the left or farther from the mainstream.

However, Nancy Keenan of NARAL Pro-Choice America noted that voters have recently tended to support pro-choice candidates. "It would be a mistake for anti-choice groups to interpret this one poll as a signal that Americans want even more interference from politicians in their personal, private decisions, including a woman's right to choose safe, legal abortion," she said. (picture from Wikimedia Commons)

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COMMENT: This is good news for sure, but how good? I note that according to the Gallup poll 53% of the respondents said abortion should be legal under certain circumstances. What circumstances? Most conservative Christians I believe would allow an abortion in bona-fide cases where the mother's life is in danger. In this tragic circumstance the decision is usually pretty obvious when a doctor must choose between the life of the unborn baby and that of the mother, who has an identity and most likely people who love and depend upon her. In this case, a person can be pro-life and still believe abortion should be legal. However, I can think of no other circumstance which would outweigh the right of the baby to live once he/she is conceived.

It is interesting to see how the pro-choice people continue to play with language. They call themselves pro-choice, but the individuals who have the most at stake in the abortion controversy, the unborn children, have no choice. The pro-choice people say they don't want politicians interfering with women's private decisions, but they do want politicians interfering with the right of unborn children to be born. Anyway, people's "private decisions" are not always outside of the law as we know, ever since slavery was abolished, and laws against murder and prostitution, just two of many examples, are still on the books.

Christian creationists also should have a voice in this matter. Every once in a while there's a story about a women undergoing an abortion who implies that she doesn't consider the aborted embryo or fetus to be human. Most likely she has read or heard about the outmoded theory that the developing human embryo goes through various stages of evolution, from protozoan to human. Called the recapitulation theory, this idea was discarded decades ago, but I've heard it still shows up in some textbooks. We should remind women that what we now know about DNA means human babies are 100% human from the moment of conception.

Jesus Christ remains the best solution to the abortion controversy. Living our lives for the Creator of all life, out of appreciation for all He has done for us, should encourage us, males and females alike, to stay out of situations where unwanted children are conceived in the first place. If we have found ourselves in this situation though, he has promised to be with us to help us get through it in the most God-pleasing way. For those who have been involved in the sin of abortion, there is full and free forgiveness available. We need to confess our sin (which means we will try not to repeat it) and accept the forgiveness Jesus offers. As faithful and dedicated believers, we can look forward to heaven where no life will ever end for any reason, nor would we want any life to end in this, our wonderful future home.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

Does grape juice have the same health benefits as red wine?

Both grape juice and red wine are high in flavonoids, which may help the heart by inhibiting blood clots and increasing the amount of the good HDL cholesterol. However, the alcohol in wine may provide an additional anti-clotting benefit. Caution: too much alcohol has obvious health risks and both types of beverages are high in calories.

Source: Consumer Reports OnHealth (June, 2009)