July 26, 2016

Marist Institute for Public Opinion shows strong majorities against federal funding of abortion and limitation on abortion


According to the Knights of Columbus summary of the poll:

By almost 20 points, a majority of Americans (56 percent to 37 percent) do not believe that healthcare providers should be forced to perform abortions against their conscience or religious beliefs. This includes 6 in 10 Latinos (61 percent) and 4 in 10 who identify as pro-choice (41 percent).

And, as you would expect, the public disagrees with last month’s Supreme Court decision torching two provisions of HB 2, the 2013 pro-life Texas law.

78 percent want abortion clinics to be held to the same standards as other outpatient surgery centers. “About three quarters of those who identify as pro-choice (74 percent) agree, as do strong majorities regardless of party affiliation,” according to the poll.

“In addition, 70 percent of Americans want doctors who perform abortions to be required to have hospital admitting privileges. …Pro-life and pro-choice adherents are also equally likely to support such a requirement at a rate of 7 in 10 for each group (71 percent).

Finally, “The majority of Americans in favor of abortion restrictions has been consistently around 8 in 10 for the better part of a decade," said Barbara Carvalho, director of the Marist Poll. “Though self-identification as pro-life or pro-choice can vary substantially from year to year, the support for restrictions is quite stable.

Click here for more from National Right to Life.