A super-majority of Americans support restrictions on abortion

Since the leak of a draft (and hopefully final!) Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, the mainstream media, Democrat politicians, “experts,” and every other abortion supporter with access to social media has been claiming that a super-majority of Americans support Roe. This has been thoroughly debunked, of course—most Americans don’t know that Roe mandates legal abortion up until birth in some scenarios and support restrictions that Roe makes impossible. But a new survey released today by the Land Center for Cultural Engagement and Christian Research examining how Americans view abortion reveals some interesting findings. The survey included 1,155 Americans, and Daniel Darling of the Land Center laid out the most interesting tidbits:

A majority of Americans favor significant restrictions on abortion.

Only 26% of Americans favor a total ban on abortion, but 41% favor restrictions after the 6th week of pregnancy, and 52% favor restrictions after the 12^th week. 59% of Americans favor a ban on abortions after 15 weeks and 65% favor a ban after 20 weeks. Those of us who believe in the sanctity of human life at conception, of course, are working for a day when human life is protected at all stages, but it is heartening to see the majority of Americans favor preserving life at earlier and earlier stages. This is a reminder that recently proposed, but defeated, legislation in the Senate (Women’s Health Protection Act) that would wipe out all existing abortion laws and allow abortion up until the moment of birth is out of step with a significant number of Americans. Only 10% of Americans support abortion up until the moment of birth, and 69% of Americans say that reducing abortions is important.

This means that a super-majority of Americans do not support Roe v. Wade. It is also a testament to the tireless work of the pro-life movement that, nearly half a century after the Supreme Court declared abortion to be a constitutional right, more than a quarter of Americans still believe that abortion should not just be restricted, but entirely illegal. Furthermore, the amount of common ground that exists on this issue—with nearly 70% of Americans agreeing that less abortions should take place—indicates that the Democratic position on abortion is wildly out of step with where the public is. I’ve noted this before, but I don’t think that Roe being overturned will motivate voters to come out for the Dems the way they think it will. They have overestimated their support due to the echo chamber they inhabit. More:

A majority of Americans see life in the womb.

Few surveys on abortion ask the question we asked: “When does life begin?” The answers are interesting. 35% of Americans believe life begins at conception. Another 28% believe life begins at the detection of the first heartbeat. This reflects the growing awareness, perhaps due to technology, other scientific breakthroughs, and pro-life advocacy, that there is life in the womb. Putting these two numbers together reveals that a full 66% of Americans understand the unborn baby to be a distinct human person. Pro-life advocates have much more work to do, but we can be grateful that fewer and fewer Americans see a fetus as less than human.

The primary takeaway from this finding is that the pro-life movement still has much work to do in educating the public on when a unique, living, whole human being comes into existence—although the fact that 66% of Americans understand that the baby in the womb is a distinct human person is both surprising and encouraging.

 A majority of Americans oppose elective abortion based on economic hardship or ender preference.

The majority of Americans (78%) feel abortion should be legal if the mother’s life is in danger, in cases of rape (73%) and incest (72%), or if the child wouldn’t survive (64%) or has severe disabilities (58%), but only 37% of Americans support abortion if the mother simply doesn’t want the child, can’t give the child a good life (38%), is suffering financial hardship (37%) or wants a child of a different gender (15%).

This data shows that Americans only favor abortions in the most difficult situations, not as a medical procedure based on convenience of economic considerations, contrary to much of the narrative from pro-abortion rights advocates.

Again, this data highlights the fact that a decades-long attempt to affect the widespread de-stigmatization of abortion by the pro-choice movement has utterly failed. No matter how many “shout your abortion” campaigns or “abortion comedy” movies they launch, the public has not bought what they are selling. More:

Americans are thinking about a post-Roe future.

Though the survey found that most Americans (52%) don’t favor the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the decision that prevented states from passing abortion restrictions, they are clearly thinking about a post-Roe future. When asked what states should do if Roe is overturned, 36% say that they want states to restrict abortion further than it is currently, while 36% want their states to keep the status quo and only 28% hope for increased abortion access. This is significant in that while a majority favor Roe, only a slim majority want what many pro-abortion proposals have called for. This means that the failed Women’s Health Protection Act in the Senate bill and legislation in places like New York and California are out of step with the American people.

It’s also interesting where Americans rank abortion as a major concern in this election year. Only 38% of Americans consider this an issue of personal importance, outranked significantly by issues such as inflation (62%). 53% of Americans said a candidate’s views on abortion would significantly affect their vote. This was true for 63% of pro-life people surveyed, 57% of pro-abortion rights people surveyed, but only 31% of those in the middle or unsure of their position.

If Roe were overturned, however, Americans favor both government and religious involvement to help women in crisis. 74% of Americans agree that the church has a role in increasing support and options for women who have unwanted pregnancies. 81% of Americans, including 62% of pro-life people, also believe state governments have a responsibility to increase support and options for women who have unwanted pregnancies. Clearly, the reality of the end of Roe will shift the conversation to ways both government and the church meet the needs of families in crisis.

Again, this data indicates that a majority of Americans does not know what Roe requires, as a supermajority supports restrictions that are impossible under the Roe regime. And finally:

Pro-life views begin in church

Lifeway’s research model defines evangelical much more narrowly, based on a set of beliefs, than other surveys. So it’s no surprised that evangelicals are the cohort who is the most pro-life. 66% of evangelicals believe life begins at conception, and 23% believe life begins with the first heartbeat. Those with evangelical beliefs are substantially more pro-life (64%) than those without them (22%). What’s more, those who attend worship weekly are more likely than others to be pro-life (53%) and say that life begins at conception (56%). Only 30% of regular churchgoers support Roe v. Wade (30%).

It is clear that holding distinctly evangelical beliefs and attending church regularly is formative in shaping a pro-life conscience. This should give hope to faithful pastors everywhere that preaching God’s Word has an important effect on the community and the country.

No surprise there. This data reveals a country with much common ground to work with in a post-Roe America. Despite the extremity of the position held by the Democrats and their abortion industry allies, Americans view abortion as a bad thing that should happen rarely, and agree that it should be significantly restricted. There is much work to be done.