by Kate Anderson
A new poll found that 61% of Americans self-identify as pro-choice just ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade.
The Knights of Columbus (KC), a Catholic charity organization designed to “bring financial aid and assistance” to those in need, released an annual poll Wednesday concerning Americans’ opinions on abortion alongside Marist College (MC), a private liberal arts college in New York. The 2023 poll found that 61% stated that they identified as pro-choice, a 6% increase from 2022 before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that abortion was not a Constitutional right.
In 2022, the poll showed that 71% of Americans wanted some form of restricted access to abortion depending on the stage of pregnancy, while only 69% felt the same way in 2023. This year’s results were largely partisan, 93% of Republicans said they wanted restrictions on abortions, at minimum, after three months, while 49% of Democrats indicated they also wanted to see restrictions on abortion.
Despite this, the poll noted that when asked questions about taxpayer-funded abortions, pro-life pregnancy centers or aborting fetuses with disabilities such as Down Syndrome, the majority of respondents were opposed to those measures.When asked if taxes should be used to fund abortions in the U.S. 60% said no, and the same number opposed abortions for children diagnosed with Down Syndrome.
Respondents were resoundingly in favor of pregnancy centers that support women during and after pregnancy instead of offering abortions by 91%, according to the poll.
Timothy Saccoccia, vice president of the KC, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that results like the ones regarding pregnancy centers indicated that Americans typically find themselves more along the pro-life side of the aisle once they are asked more specific questions about the issue.
“What we have been able to find over the last 15 years is that despite the way that the pro-life and pro-choice monitors move up and down is that there really is a consensus among Americans, that [they] are more pro-life than not,” Saccoccia stated. “What we do see is that America has a pro-life consensus that really drives through it.”
When asked about doctors, nurses or other healthcare professionals being able to obtain a religious exemption to performing an abortion, 77% agreed while 23% responded that medical professionals should be legally required to perform an abortion, despite their religious objections, according to the poll. Religious organizations did not receive the same results, with only a slim majority, 55%, agreeing that they should have the right not to offer abortion services.
The final question in the poll asked respondents whether or not they felt that laws could only protect the life of the mother or the life of the child or if they could protect both. The poll showed that 90% of Americans believed that laws can and should protect both mother and child.
The KC and MC poll was conducted between Jan. 6 and Jan. 2023 and surveyed 1,025 adults and was completed over the phone for both English and Spanish-speaking respondents. The results are “statistically significant” by +3.5% and out of the 1,025, 885 respondents were registered voters.
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Kate Anderson is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Pro-Choice Supporters” by jordanuhl7. CC BY 2.0.
