Support for Abortion Slips, Perceptions of Social Rifts Mixed
With the Autumnal Equinox recently behind us, the leaves are starting to fall and the days are finally cooling. It would seem public opinion on certain hot issues has also started to cool, for better or for worse. Below are findings from recent studies that show a decline in support for legal abortions although still a majority of Americans oppose increasing barriers to abortion access, and a relatively nonchalant attitude toward racial conflict. On the flip side, support for making abortions illegal has gained in popularity, and public opinion is heated around perceived conflict between immigrants and the native-born.
Diminishing Support for the Pro-Choice Stance on Abortion
Support for legal abortion is weakening as its opposition gains strength, according to a recent survey by The Pew Research Center and The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life conducted in August of 2009 and released in October. The question, posed to a nationwide sample of 4,013 adults 18 years of age or older as part of a telephone survey, was “Do you think abortion should be… Legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases, illegal in all cases?”
For the first time in years American public opinion is evenly divided on the issue, with 47% of American’s in support of legal abortion, and 44% of American’ in opposition to legal abortion. In 2007 and 2008 surveys also conducted by Pew, the margin averaged 14 percentage points, with 54% agreeing that abortions should be legal and 40% expressing the belief that abortions should not be legal. The only demographic bloc that did not experience a decline in support for legal abortion is the 18-29 year-old age group, remaining steady at 52%. Support for legal abortion did not gain in any demographic group.
Partisan Disparities and a New Gender Gap among Dems:
Using the 2007/2008 surveys as a benchmark, more Republicans have made the switch to the pro-life position. There was a seven point decline in their support of the pro-choice stance and a corresponding six point increase on the pro-life standpoint:
–39% supported the pro-choice stance in 2007
–32% supported the pro-choice stance in 2009
–57% supported the pro-life standpoint in 2007
–63% supported the pro-life standpoint in 2009
There was also a slight decrease in the number of pro-choice Democrats, although they were more likely to move in to the “don’t know” category, as the level of Democrats behind the pro-life position remained steady:
–64% supported the pro-choice stance in 2007
–60% supported the pro-choice stance in 2009
–31% supported the pro-life stance in both 2007 and 2009
There is a new gender gap in the Democratic Party, however, as support by Democratic men for legal abortion plunged from 62% to 53% while Democratic women remained steady.
Increased Support for Obstructing Access to Abortions
Although more people oppose increasing barriers to abortion access, the numbers of people in favor of hindering access to abortion is on the rise. Forty-one percent of people surveyed in 2009 feel that abortions should be more difficult to obtain, up from 35% in 2007. Opposition to obstacles to abortion has declined from 56% in 2007 to 50% in 2009.
Increased Sense of Certainty among Pro-Life Supporters
When asked about the certainty of their position on the issue of abortion, there was a ten percentage point difference between the pro-choice and pro-life camps: 63% of respondents that believe abortion should be legal felt their position was correct, whereas 73% of respondents the believe abortion should be illegal felt their position was correct. Finally, while the majority of American’s wish to find a middle-ground on the abortion issue, respondents in opposition to abortion were less willing to compromise. A strong majority in the pro-choice group (72%) agrees to the importance of finding the middle ground, but only 48”% of respondents on the pro-life side felt compromise was important.
Attitudes on Social Rifts – Race takes a back seat to Immigrant and Class-related Tensions
A survey conducted over the summer by The Pew Research Center reveals that more Americans believe there is serious conflict between immigrants and the native-born than between blacks and whites. Fifty-five percent of adults believe the level of tension between immigrants and people born in the United States to be either strong or very strong. The next issue of concern was friction between the rich and the poor, with 47% of American’s expressing the belief that conflict in this area is strong or very strong. Racial conflict was next, with only four-in-ten (39%) stating that the conflict between blacks and whites is strong or very strong.
Whites overall seemed to perceive conflicts to be less intense than any other group. Only 35% of whites believe the strain between blacks and whites to be strong or very strong, as opposed to 53% of African Americans and 47% of Latinos who maintained this stance. The gap in opinions about income inequality was even wider, with 43% of whites, 65% of African Americans and 55% of Latinos asserting that conflict between rich and poor is a serious issue. Latinos were the most likely to believe there was a high level of hostility between immigrants and the native-born (68%), while fewer whites (53%) and African Americans (61%) shared this opinion, though it was the most commonly held belief among those interviewed.
Gaps based on political affiliation. As expected, there were variations between political parties as well, with a substantially higher number of Democrats than Republicans articulating the view that the friction between blacks and whites was considerable (46%), as well as the conflict between the have’s and have-not’s (55%). Only one-third of Republicans (33%) agreed there was serious conflict between blacks and whites, and two-in-five (38%) felt there was tension between the classes. The parties were in accordance on the gravity of the conflict between immigrants and people born in the United States, however, with 56% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans affirming this statement.
While only 47% of respondents in the Pew survey expressed the conflict between rich and poor to be strong or very strong, 71% of those interviewed in a Democracy Corps/Campaign for America’s Future poll conducted in November 2008 believed the increasing level of income inequality to be a serious or very serious problem.
More analysis on social rifts in America to come on The Opportunity Agenda Public Opinion Monthly page.
