An article at Axios discusses the findings of a new Marist poll which reveal a profound shift in Americans' attitudes toward abortion, especially among young Democrats.
The poll found that for the first time in ten years as many Americans identified as pro-life as identified as pro-choice.
In the recent poll 47% of Americans identified as pro-life with an equal number identifying as pro-choice. In a similar poll last month pro-choicers enjoyed a 17 point edge.
Nevertheless, two things about this poll should temper the excitement of pro-lifers:
1. If the numbers can swing that much in one month they can certainly swing back again in an equally brief period of time.
2. The increased popularity of the pro-life position is alleged to be a consequence of the recent controversy over legalizing infanticide, which is, in the minds of many pro-choice advocates, a logical extension of pro-choice thinking. If, though, this controversy manages to get swept under the rug, by a complicit media the revulsion that fed it may also subside and the numbers fall back to earlier levels.
On the other hand, pro-choicers should be deeply concerned that:
1. Overall 80% of Americans want abortion limited to the first trimester. This is not the pro-choice position which is that abortion should be available to a woman who chooses it at any time in her pregnancy, and, among many Democrats in New York, Virginia and Vermont, even after the baby has been born.
2. The shift is largely due to a change in attitudes among Democrats: Democrats, specifically those under the the age of 45, seem to be leading the shift: This month's poll found 34% of Democrats identify as pro-life vs. 61% pro-choice. Last month, those numbers were 20% and 75%, respectively.
3. Younger Americans overall are moving toward the pro-life view. Among Americans under 45, 47% identify as pro-life vs. 48% pro-choice. In January, those numbers were 28% and 65%, respectively.
More details can be found at the link. I wonder whether the infanticide controversy is the only factor at play in the remarkable turnabout in the polls' findings. Perhaps there's also been a slow, cumulative germination of pro-life sympathies sown by the several undercover exposés of Planned Parenthood's grisly practices that have swept across YouTube and social media in the last few years.
In any case, if 80% of Americans want abortion restricted to the first trimester, then I think it fair to say that the United States, apart from the coastal elites and despite the laws as they currently stand, is largely a pro-life nation.
