Americans’ views toward a number of moral issues have shifted significantly since 2001. Their acceptance of gay and lesbian relations has increased the most, up 19 percentage points in the past 12 years — to a record high of 59% today. Americans’ tolerance toward having a baby outside of marriage [...] Read more »
Americans Misjudge Abortion Views
When asked how they think most Americans feel about the abortion issue, 51% of U.S. adults say the public is mostly “pro-choice,” while 35% say “pro-life.” This general perception that the pro-choice viewpoint prevails contrasts with the nearly even division of Americans’ actual views. The same poll finds that 48% [...] Read more »
Abortion Views Steady Amid Gosnell Trial
As Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell awaits the jury verdict in his capital murder trial, Gallup finds 26% of Americans saying abortion should be legal under any circumstances and 20% saying it should be illegal in all circumstances. The majority, 52%, opt for something in between, as has been the [...] Read more »
If gay marriage and pot are now OK, why isn’t abortion?
As abortion opponents are scoring a string of victories in the states, it raises a question: why are conservatives gaining ground in this one arena, even if they’re losing in the battle over gay marriage and marijuana? A few factors help explain this contradiction. [cont.] Juliet Eilperin & Scott Clement, [...] Read more »
53 percent support gay marriage
Two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two highly publicized gay-marriage cases, a majority of Americans continue to say they support same-sex marriage, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Fifty-three percent of respondents favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, which is [...] Read more »
Majority of Americans Support Roe v. Wade Decision
Forty years after the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Roe v. Wade, significantly more Americans want the landmark abortion decision kept in place rather than overturned, 53% to 29%. Another 18% have no opinion, the highest level of uncertainty Gallup has recorded on this question in trends dating to [...] Read more »
Majority, for first time, wants abortion to be legal
As the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision takes place on Tuesday, a majority of Americans – for the first time – believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. What’s more, seven in 10 [...] Read more »
Abortion After 40 Years of Roe: Legal But Restricted
… The convergence of two important factors helps explain the success of state-level abortion restrictions: the sustained engagement and enthusiasm of the pro-life base, combined with declining public interest in – and ongoing ambivalence about – the abortion issue. [cont.] Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, Public Religion Research Institute Read more »
Roe v. Wade at 40: Most Oppose Overturning Abortion Decision
As the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision approaches, the public remains opposed to completely overturning the historic ruling on abortion. More than six-in-ten (63%) say they would not like to see the court completely overturn the Roe v. Wade decision, which established a woman’s constitutional [...] Read more »
Biggest moves in religion and politics in 2012
Considering that 2012 saw the first presidential contest in which there was no white mainline Protestant anywhere on the presidential ticket, religion played a surprisingly subtle role in the election cycle. But even if religion played more of a supporting than a leading role in the election, the religion factor [...] Read more »