76% concern about how having a baby would change the woman's
life
The women were then asked to list the reasons in order of importance to their ultimate decision. The women in the sample most frequently cited not being able to afford a child and not being ready. When asked for more details about their reason's, most of the women (67%) who expressed concern about how the child would affect their lives, explained that having a child would interfere with their job or career. Half the women in this subgroup said that a child would interfere with school; 28% reported that a child would interfere with the women's obligations to others who depended on her for care.
The survey also studied the reasons for abortion after sixteen weeks gestation.
It would seem that most women having abortions are more concerned with their jobs, than with their children. Are jobs and school really more important than your coming child? Money, whether their future potential of gaining money, or the fear of the possible cost, is held as a higher value than that of a human life. With life so worthless before the child is born, is it no wonder that life after birth is valued so little by society?
Let's examine now the views of the American public on abortion. In May 1990, the Gallup organization, commissioned by the Americans United for Life(A.U.L.), did a survey on the opinions of Americans. A.U.L. wanted a poll to show exactly what the public thought about abortion, morally and legally. The Gallup Poll survey, entitled, "Abortion and Moral Beliefs: A Survey of American opinion," was released in 1991. This is considered the most comprehensive abortion survey done. The results are as follows:
In the first-trimester:
A majority in this poll say they approve of abortion after three months, ONLY to save the life of the mother. Support for rape, incest and serious fetal deformity remains high, but below 50%. Support
after three months for reasons of life-style, career and even poverty declines to below 15%.
Since 1975, the Gallup Poll has been asking Americans in what circumstances should abortion be legal. And for the past 20 years the percentage who believe it should be legal only in limited circumstances has remained between 48% to 57%. The limited Circumstances are rape, incest, danger to the mother's life, and severe deformity to the child. These "limited circumstances" consist of 2% to 3% of the overall abortions performed in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Justice, 'Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics,' 1988 (and again in 1990), asked the 57% subsample, they found, who thought that abortion should be legal only in certain circumstances whether they approved of abortion in specified circumstances. 94% approved when the woman's life is endangered; 89% for rape or incest; 84% when her physical health is seriously threatened. 60% if there is any chance that the baby would be born deformed. As the A.G.I. survey demonstrated, even those few women who abort for these reasons, almost always have additional reasons for aborting,
79% disapproved of abortion for the reason that the family could not afford to have the child. More women disapproved of that reason than men, 80% to 69%. Yet inability to afford the child was given by 68% of the Alan Guttmacher study, and was listed as the most important reason given by women for having an abortion.
Adding the average 20% of Americans who think that abortion should be illegal under All circumstances, we can surmize that an average 75% of Americans are opposed to the vast majority of abortions performed in this country.
This was also stated when the 'Boston Globe,' a pro-abortion newspaper, released its survey in 1989. The Globe stated, "Most Americans would ban the vast majority of abortions performed in this country.,, The Globe found that "while 78 percent of the nation would keep abortion legal in limited circumstances, those circumstances account for only a tiny percentage of the reasons cited by women having abortions.',
Taking the Alan Guttmacher study of the reasons women have abortions, and the Gallup Poll survey of American opinion of the reasons that abortion should be legal, we come to one conclusion. That conclusion, is that 75% of Americans would outlaw 97% of abortions in the United States.
In March 1989, the Los Angeles Times surveyed more than 3,500 Americans on their belief of abortion. Most national public opinion surveys have sample sizes of about 1,200 persons, Which makes the Los Angeles Times poll one of the largest polls taken. 57% of Americans surveyed believe that abortion is 'morally wrong." 51% believe abortion is murder.
Since 1981 the 'NBC News/ Wall Street Journal Poll,' has found that the proportion of Americans who believe abortion is wrong ranges from 44% to 54%; those who say it is not range from 39% to 47%. The May 1992 survey found the nation evenly split in opinion.
A September 1989 survey from the 'CBS News/ New York Times Poll,' found that 47% of Americans believe that "abortion is the same thing as murdering a child.', With 45% of the public believing that
"abortion is not murder because the fetus really isn't a person."
Now, it would seem from these surveys that the majority of Americans are against abortion, and that the laws would be overturned. So why haven't they? 'The Washington Times,' February 28, 1991, "Gallup Poll: America is Pro-Life," asked and answered this question. The 'Times' stated, "So why has there been no tidal wave of opposition to the legal status quo of abortion-on-demand? Simply
this: Americans don't know what the abortion laws say."
In 1986, the 'Research and Forecasts/ Hearst Corporation Poll,'
found that only 30% of Americans can recall unprompted in surveys that Roe vs. Wade is a case dealing with abortion rights. The 1991 Gallup Poll found that only lit of Americans have an accurate understanding that abortion is available throughout all nine months of pregnancy.
According to an Alan Guttmacher Institute study of 1,900 abortion patients, in 1988, "Why Do Women Have Abortions?", the six most frequently used reasons, most giving between three to five reasons, are as follows:
68% inability to afford a child right now
51% problems in the relationship or not wanting to be a single
parent
31% not ready for the responsibility of parenthood
31% not wanting others to know that the woman was pregnant or
sexually active
30% (but most common among the youngest patients) not being mature or old enough for a child
One quarter of the women said they had all the children they wanted or grown-up children.
23% gave as a reason the husband's or partner's wish that she have an abortion.
71% was the passage of time before the woman realized she was pregnant.
Almost half cited having difficulties making arrangements for the abortion.
45% had first tried to obtain an abortion from another provider.
1/3(63% of minors) fear of telling a partner or parent.
Among the women who cited difficulty in making arrangements as a cause of delay, 60% reported that it took time to raise money to pay for the procedure; 1/3 had first contacted providers who did not provide abortion services; 1/25 did not have a provider nearby; and 20% said they did not know where to obtain an abortion.
8O% believed abortion would be acceptable, if the woman's life is endangered
70% if the pregnancy was the result of rape
70% the result of incest
59% if there is a strong chance of serious deformity in the baby
55% if the woman's mental or emotional health might be damaged by the pregnancy
29% if the family has a very low income and another child would create financial burden
28% if the pregnancy would require a teen-ager to drop out of school
27% if the woman has been abandoned by the father of the unborn child
19% if the pregnancy is unplanned and would interrupt a professional woman's career
9% if the couple is using abortion as a repeated means of birth control
6% if the couple wants a boy and a test has revealed that the baby will be a girl.
