A new ABC News/Washington Post poll with biased questions appears to show that a strong majority of Americans support the infamous abortion ruling Roe v. Wade.
According to the poll, 60 percent of Americans believe the U.S. Supreme Court should uphold Roe while just 27 percent say the court should overturn it. This included majorities of men and women, Catholics, rural and urban residents, young and old, people with college degrees and those without, as well as various racial groups.
These results, however, do not match with numerous other polls that show strong public opposition to what Roe does: It forces states to legalize the killing of unborn babies in abortions without limits up to viability and allows abortion on demand up to birth.
Many of the poll questions sound more like talking points from the pro-abortion lobby to illicit support for their cause than actual, information-based questions aimed at understanding Americans’ opinions.
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The first question asks: “… abortion law in the United States is based on the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as Roe v. Wade. Do you think the Supreme Court should uphold Roe v. Wade or overturn it?”
Nowhere does the question clarify what the ruling does, nor does it mention babies in the womb. Other polls that ask more specific questions about abortion legislation consistently find strong public opposition to what Roe does.
A June poll from AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that a strong majority of Americans believe abortions should be illegal in the second (65 percent) and third trimesters (80 percent).
Similarly, a recent Gallup poll found that 52 percent of Americans take a pro-life position on abortion, waiting all (19 percent) or almost all (33 percent) of abortions made illegal. In contrast, 45 percent of Americans say all (32 percent) or almost all (13 percent) abortions should be legal.
And a January poll from Marist found that more than three quarters of Americans (76 percent), including a majority who identify as pro-choice, want significant restrictions on abortion.
Most Americans do not realize that Roe v. Wade made the U.S. one of only seven countries in the world that allows unborn babies to be killed in elective abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy – a fact confirmed by the Washington Post, or that the ruling prohibits states from protecting unborn babies from abortion before viability. Most polls do not share this basic information when they ask about Roe, so respondents often do not understand the issue.
The ABC/Washington Post poll asked other biased questions, too.
In answer to one question, 75 percent said an abortion should be a decision between a woman and her doctor and not a legal matter. However, the poll failed to mention that the abortion industry is taking doctors out of the equation, lobbying for nurses to be allowed to do abortions and for mail-order abortions where a woman never sees a medical professional at all.
Another question asked about state legislation that “makes it more difficult for abortion clinics to operate.” The poll found strong opposition (58 percent oppose/36 percent support) to these laws, too, but it never mentioned any details about the actual legislation.
Laws that the abortion industry blames for hindering its work include basic health and safety requirements for abortion facilities, informed consent requirements and waiting periods, measures to ensure abortion facilities are equipped to help patients with emergency complications, and requirements that aborted babies’ bodies be buried or cremated rather than trashed.
Another problematic question asked about the Texas heartbeat law without mentioning unborn babies or the heartbeat. Instead, it framed the law as a ban on abortions after “about six weeks of pregnancy,” which is misleading. The law prohibits abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable; that happens at about six weeks of pregnancy, but the ban is based on the heartbeat, not the six-week mark.
According to the ABC poll, 29 percent want the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the law while 65 percent want the court to reject it.
These results also do not match with other polls about the Texas law. An October poll from the University of Houston/Texas Southern University found a solid 55 percent of Texas residents support the life-saving legislation. Similarly, a recent Rasmussen poll found that Americans support the Texas pro-life law by a 46-43 percent margin.
A 2019 national Hill-HarrisX survey found that 55 percent of voters said they do not think laws banning abortions after six weeks – when an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable – are too restrictive.
And in September, a Saint Louis University/YouGov poll found similarly strong support (56 percent) for an eight-week abortion ban among Missouri residents.
Since 1973, nearly 63 million unborn babies have been aborted legally under Roe v. Wade. As the U.S. Supreme Court considers several major abortion cases this fall, poll after poll consistently shows that Americans want an end to Roe and the ability to protect unborn babies under the law once again.
