Public Support for Legal Abortion Continues, Although Polls Show Conflicting Trends in 1983

Abstract

3 national and 2 statewide polls on abortion attitudes were conducted in the U.S. during 1983. 3 of the surveys show some increase in public approval of legal abortion. The Gallup Poll is 1 of these. It is based on interviews with 1558 men and women aged 18 and older in 300 US localities. Approval of abortion rose from 75 to 81% between 1981 and 1983; while the proportion who said abortion should be illegal in all circumstances declined from 21 to 16%. The California Poll--a survey of Californians 18 and older--found a considerably higher proportion approving of "allowing abortion when a mother desires it during the first 3 months of pregnancy" than the Gallup Poll (69% versus 50%). 30% said they disapprove (compared with 43% in the Gallup Poll). As length of gestation increases, however, approval declines. The Iowa poll--a telephone survey of randomly selected Iowans aged 18 or older--found that 89% believe that all or some abortions should be legal. This represents a slight increase from 83% when the question was last asked in 1978. The National Opinion Research Center, in its most recent survey of 1599 adults 18 or older, found that between 1982 and 1983 there was an average decline of 6.5 percentage points in public support for legal abortions. A national poll undertaken by Penn and Schoen for The Garth Analysis was conducted among 1010 registered voters. The sample was weighted to match the US electorate by age, income, and sex. It found that 57% of voters "oppose a constitutional amendment to prohibit almost all abortions." The proportion opposed to such an amendment had declined, however, from 67% a year earlier; the proportion favoring an antiabortion amendment has risen from 28 to 36%. A majority oppose the cutting off of public funding of abortions for poor women.