Poll: Most Americans Don't Understand 'Roe vs. Wade'
A national poll released on Tuesday showed that although 65 percent of Americans say they are familiar with the 1973 landmark Roe vs. Wade abortion case, only 29 percent were able to select an accurate descripti
WASHINGTON - A national poll was released by the Real Women’s Voices coalition on Tuesday at the National Press Club, showing that although 65 percent of Americans say they are familiar with the 1973 landmark abortion case, Roe vs. Wade, only 29 percent were able to select an accurate description of the ruling.
The national survey of 1,000 adults age 18 and over was conducted by WomanTrend, a key division of the polling company inc., on Apr. 13-14.
“Roe is hanging by a thread that is increasingly being frayed by the American people’s exposure to the facts of abortion,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser of Susan B. Anthony List, a sponsor of Real Women’s Voices. “These numbers show that our abortion laws don’t represent the beliefs of the vast majority of Americans, including American women.”
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Key findings in the poll include:
• Sixty-five percent of respondents say they considered themselves familiar (23 percent very familiar and 42 percent somewhat familiar) with the 1973 United States Supreme Court case of Roe vs. Wade. Thirty-one percent said they are not familiar (19 percent just a little familiar and 12 percent not at all familiar)
• Though 65 percent said they were familiar with Roe, when asked to identify which of four descriptions most accurately describes what the case provides as the law, only 29 percent selected the correct description:
- 29% Made abortion legal in essentially all circumstances throughout pregnancy
- 18% Made abortion legal but only in the first trimester
- 17% Made abortion legal but only in limited circumstances
- 15% Made abortion legal but only in the first and second trimesters
• The majority (54 percent) agreed with one of three traditional pro-life statements:
- Abortion should be prohibited in all circumstances,
- Abortion should be legal only to save the life of the mother,
- Abortion should be legal only in cases of rape, incest or to save the mother’s life
Only 41 percent selected a pro-choice view. Notably, three-quarters of Americans (75 percent) say they believe abortions should never be allowed, allowed only in very limited circumstances, or not past the first trimester of pregnancy. The 18-34 year old group (especially 18-34 year old women) was more likely than respondents overall to identify with one of the three pro-life views of abortion.
“Not surprisingly, a majority (54 percent) of Americans do not agree with what Roe permits—that is, unrestricted abortion for any reason, even as a method of birth control,” commented Karen Cross of the National Right to Life. “And while a majority of those polled (65 percent) say they are familiar with Roe, only 29 percent actually knew that Roe made abortion legal in essentially all circumstances throughout pregnancy.”
Real Women’s Voices is a coalition of national and state-based pro-life organizations has brought women from across the country to Washington on Wednesday to lobby Congress.
“Women around the country want common-sense legislation on abortion,” said Concerned Women for America’s Wendy Wright. “We hear senators claim they want to ‘reduce the number of abortions.’ Pro-life women will be presenting the opportunity for them to prove it, telling senators to pass laws restricting abortionists from taking advantage of young women.”
