Mainstream thinking on abortion

For years now -- make that decades -- the lamestream media have been telling us that the majority of modern, progressive people are "pro-choice". That means, we are told, that it's up to a pregnant woman to decide for herself if she wants to keep her child or kill it. That's not the way the media present it, of course, but that's what it means to be "pro-choice".

Thus, the past week saw considerable consternation in the ranks of the pro-abortion lobbyists and other progressive and right-thinking wimmin. The cause of the consternation? The release of the Gallup Poll's annual Values and Beliefs Survey. Hard as the sisters find it to believe, 72% of Americans believe that abortion should be illegal under most circumstances.

The Gallup figures show that 49% of Americans label themselves "pro-choice" while 45% are "pro-life". As the first graph shows, those figures have see-sawed back and forth, but still been roughly even, for several years. For most of 2009-10, the "pro-life" numbers were slightly higher, with a reversal occurring late last year.

However, the more significant graph -- and the most disturbing to the baby-killers -- is the second one. It shows clearly that most Americans do not favour abortion. 51% of those surveyed said that abortion is "morally wrong". Only 39% said that what is euphemistically called "the procedure" is "morally acceptable".

One could infer that many of those polled want to have it both ways. Perhaps they see no contradiction in supporting a woman's "right to choose" while at the same time saying they would not make that choice -- to abort an unwanted child -- for themselves.

The third graph deals with the legality of abortion. 72% said that abortion should be illegal either in all (22%) or in some (50%) circumstances. If you do the math, those figures must include at least some of the 49% who identified themselves as "pro-choice".

The fourth question tried to be more specific. What do you understand by "some circumstances", it asked. 61% of responders said it should be only a few (as opposed to "most") circumstances. The results indicate clear and growing support for measures to end the current policy of unrestricted legal abortion on demand.

The Gallup figures show that American opinion on the morality and legality of abortion remains sharply divided. But -- and this is the most important conclusion to be drawn -- those who think that abortion is wrong are not just a handful of right-wing religious fanatics. Being pro-life is just as much a mainstream American viewpoint as the evil opposite.