Opinion: Polls and 'The abortion confusion'

How do we explain the discrepancy between the opinion polls and behavior in the voting booth?

RICHMOND, Va. (Catholic Online) - A national poll taken by Marist College Institute of Public Opinion between September 24 and October 3, 2008, reported that 60% of Americans say that abortions should either never be allowed, or should only be allowed in the case of rape and incest, which constitute less than two percent of all abortions performed.In contrast, only 40 percent agreed with one of three pro-abortion positions, while a mere 8 percent agreed with President Obama's position that abortions should be allowed any time during pregnancy for any reason.

On the basis of this poll, one could say that more Americans are pro-life than pro-choice. This was corroborated by a FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll taken May 12-13, 2009, in which 49% of respondents identified themselves as pro-life, versus 43% identifying themselves as pro-choice. A Gallup Poll taken May 7-10, 2009 similarly reported 51% of respondents identifying themselves as pro-life versus 42% who identified themselves as pro-choice. So how do we explain the discrepancy between the self-identification of these citizens on the opinion polls and their behavior in the voting booth? A clue to this puzzle may be found in additional data from the Marist College poll. When it came to identifying themselves as either pro-life or pro-choice, despite the fact that 60 percent of the respondents took a basically pro-life position against 98% of the abortions performed in this country, 50 percent nonetheless identified themselves "pro-choice" while only 44 percent said they were pro-life!

Interestingly, 5 percent of people identifying themselves as "pro-choice" said abortions should never be permitted(!), 3 percent said only to save the life of the mother and 20 percent said only in cases of the life of the mother, rape or incest. So, despite their self-identification as pro-choice, 28 percent of the respondents actually take a pro-life position opposing nearly all abortions. In addition, only 15% of those describing themselves as "pro-choice" favored the unrestricted abortion that is prevalent in the U.S, with 71 percent saying they favored more limitations on abortion. So, you have many Americans who hold pro-life views but yet call themselves pro-choice. We can only assume that they either do not understand the pro-choice position on abortion, or they think that being pro-choice, like the people the media is constantly parading in front of them, is a "big tent" that somehow includes their opposition to most or all abortions. What is going on here?

Many people with whom I have spoken simply have no idea how liberal abortion laws are in this country. Abortion is legal in all 50 states. Roe v. Wade declared that the state has no compelling interest in protecting the life of a fetus until it is "viable", which it decided was the beginning of the third trimester, unless the "health of the mother" is endangered. The mother's "health" was so ill defined that this clause has been used to essentially eliminate any restriction on when abortions may be performed.

Announcing NEW Catholic Online News - Visit Today!

In the 1992 Planned Parenthood vs. Casey case, the Court gave more discretion to the states to determine when viability begins, and although some states have used this decision to place some restrictions on abortion, these limitations will be eliminated if FOCA is passed. The sad thing is that many Americans do not know what is going on under their own noses, or who is responsible. Many feel that a politician can say that he is "personally opposed" to abortion and still vote for upholding existing abortion laws, funding abortion facilities and providers like Planned Parenthood with tax dollars, and for reducing the right of people to know what is really going on by prohibiting parental notification, discussion of abortion alternatives, and showing ultrasounds to mothers.

I remember as a young man, I was concerned because I thought that some people at school didn't like me. A wise adult told me, "Fred, as you go through life, a few people will really like you, a few people will hate you, and the vast majority won't care one way or the other." That maxim holds true for most aspects of life. Unless the issue is very important to you, you do not waste a lot of cognitive or emotional energy on it. The solution is to make this issue important to our fellow voters. Education is the key. No, everyone does not need to go to medical school to become an expert on the subject. We are all capable of understanding natural law. Sometimes we just need to be reminded of it.

In the second chapter of his epistle to the Romans, St. Paul tells us, "14 For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts..." The people who hold pro-life views but are confused and think that to be either fashionable or tolerant or nonjudgmental one must be pro-choice demonstrate this truth.In their hearts they know it is wrong to kill unborn children, but they either do not understand that this is what abortion means, or they are confused by people who try to rationalize away reality.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says in section 2270 that life begins at conception, for the simple reason that, left alone, a fetus will grow into a baby. Simple as that. Lack of "viability" is neither a logically nor morally valid reason to kill a baby. No baby could survive outside the womb without someone feeding him, clothing him, changing him, and so forth. Nobody who is recovering in the hospital, be it from an accident, a serious illness, or a surgery could survive without having his basic needs met by someone else, either. I doubt whether many of us, even completely healthy, could survive for very long if we were lost in the mountains somewhere. That is no reason to kill us.

Secret Archives of the Saints, Subscribe Today

These facts, though simple and logical, have not been sufficiently stressed. Abortion proponents like to obfuscate these simple truths with sophomoric discussions of when life begins, when the fetus is "viable", and undoubtedly how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. When presented with truth, these folks generally say scornfully that the reason you cling to simple answers is that you do not understand the question. It would be well to bear in mind what the Marquis de Vauvenargues (1715-47) said: "When a thought is too weak to be expressed simply, it should be rejected."

---------

Dr. Fred Liewehr is an endodontist who teaches at the VA Medical Center in Richmond and also works in private practice in Fredericksburg. He is a convert to Catholicism in 1983, having been drawn to Christ's Church as compellingly as a moth to a candle. He is a member of St. Benedict parish in Richmond where he sings bass in the choir. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and a Cooperator of Opus Dei.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'