Recent Polls Show Americans are Pro-Life on Abortion
“70% of Americans support a woman’s right to choose.” It’s a false stat that has been debunked for years but that hasn’t stopped the liberal media, Democrat politicians and abortion activists from repeating the lie this week in the wake of a draft of a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
So what do Americans really think about abortion? The answer is simple. For decades, a majority of Americans have taken a pro-life position wanting all or more abortions made illegal.
In the 1990s, polling data showed approximately 55% of Americans opposed all or most abortions. Yes, Americans support exceptions — such as abortion in cases of rape or incest or when the life of the mother is in danger. But those cases constitute less than 2% of all abortions, as 98% of abortions are cases when abortion is used as birth control.
Since that time, little has changed as poll after poll after poll has found anywhere from 50-60% of Americans still want all or most abortions made illegal. Here is a list of several major polls in recent years confirming this to be true:
• May 2022: A Fox News poll found Americans are pro-life on a 54-44% margin and majorities want abortions banned after either 6 weeks or 15 weeks.
• January 2022: A Marist poll found 71% of Americans want abortions to be made illegal or for more limits to be placed on them, all essentially supporting overturning Roe.
• September 2021: A new Rasmussen poll shows Americans support the Texas abortion ban to save babies from abortion by a 46-43% margin.
• June 2021: Gallup found 52% of Americans take a pro-life position on abortion wanting all (19%) or almost all 33% of abortions made illegal.
• January 2021: A Marist Poll found a majority of Americans are pro-life and oppose all or virtually all abortions that take place in America today. When asked, 51% of Americans take a pro-life position with 12% of Americans saying abortion should never be permitted under any circumstance, 11% of Americans say abortions should only be permitted to save the life of the mother and 28% of Americans take a pro-life position opposing 98% of abortions except in cases of rape or incest or if necessary to save the life of the mother.
• December 2021: A Harvard-Harris poll found 32% of Americans want to repeal Roe v. Wade entirely and another 24% of Americans believe the Supreme Court should uphold the Mississippi abortion ban at issue in the recent Supreme Court case, which bans abortions on unborn babies up to 15 weeks. That’ 56% of Americans who are for overturning completely or setting the abortion limit at 15 weeks, which can be done by overturning Roe.
• July 2020: Gallup found 55% of Americans take a pro-life position on abortion wanting all (21%) or almost all 39% of abortions made illegal.
• June 2020: A CBS poll found just 43% of Americans think abortions should be generally available while 55% of Americans say it should either be more limited or should not be permitted altogether.
• January 2020: Gallup found that 58% of Americans oppose abortion on demand.
• May 2019: A new Hill-HarrisX survey found that 55% of voters support laws banning abortions after six weeks — when an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable.
• June 2019: A Morning Consult poll found that 61% of Americans want all or almost all abortions made illegal. (lifenews.com)
Barna: Kids Will Be What They See
“Kids these days” are shaped by watching their parents. That’s the takeaway from the Cultural Research Center (CRC) at Arizona Christian University’s latest survey. “Young children are watching their parents. They’re listening to their parents, and they’re trying to put those two things together,” said George Barna, CRC Director and FRC Senior Research Fellow for the Center for Biblical Worldview. “The problem is, they’re seeing a contradiction between word and deed. The conclusion we discovered that children draw is, “What a shame. My parents seem as confused as I am. So this faith they’re talking about must not have the answers.”
The statistics are appalling. Among American parents of children under age 13, only 2% have a biblical worldview, and even among self-identified born-again Christians, the number is only 8%. “Between 15 to 18 months of age is when most children start forming their worldview,” explained Barna on Washington Watch. “By the age of 13, it’s almost completely in place.” Barna’s worldview research discerns the presence of a biblical worldview with questions about biblical inerrancy, the character of God, the life of Christ, absolute moral truth and salvation by faith.
Just because parents aren’t consciously building their children’s worldview doesn’t mean one isn’t forming. “A child needs a worldview, so if we don’t help them develop it, somebody else will.” Barna’s research found “four major influences on worldview”: public schools, media, arts and entertainment, and “the laws of the land… because that’s what teaches us right from wrong partly.”
So, if a biblical worldview isn’t dominant, what is? “More than 9 out of 10 parents of preteens (94%) have a syncretistic worldview — a grab bag of beliefs and behaviors taken from a variety of philosophies of life,” said Barna. “Most parents mix some biblical ideals with… Marxism to Eastern mysticism and everything in between.” Throw in a little Marxism there, a bit of Eastern mysticism there, season generously with nationalism, stir in a dollop of post-modernism and garnish with secular environmentalism — and parents have concocted for their own worldview and their children’s a witch’s brew more poisonous than nutritious. God does not accept syncretistic worship (Exod. 34:14).
Part of the problem is the teaching in churches, neither equipping children with a biblical worldview nor empowering parents to do so. “We’re telling them Bible stories, but not teaching them biblical truths,” lamented Perkins. Instead of teaching the Bible and worshiping God, Barna added, churches are busy measuring the “numbers of people showing up.” Sure, a brief, flashy performance might draw a crowd for now, but if churches neglect the core distinctives of Christianity, why should anyone bother even showing up for the long haul? If church becomes merely a forum for social interaction, families may as well spend their Sunday on the lake, at a cookout, or at the ballpark.
Community outreach is fine, even necessary; but churches can’t stop there. Perkins shared his own childhood experience in an unchurched home and then attending Vacation Bible School. He came for the cookies and stayed for eternal life. “I’m grateful that the church I was in… taught the Scripture, and so I developed that biblical worldview.” The church didn’t just teach Tony; his whole family was saved as a result. “I can recall my dad reading Our Daily Bread and the Bible,” Perkins continued. “I saw the Bible was important to him, so it became important to me.”
FRC President Tony Perkins asked Barna about the prospect for parents who lack a solid biblical foundation being able to instill one in their children, “How can you teach what you don’t have?” Barna responded that an “outsourcing approach to parenting” is not the solution, even if it is “the chief parenting strategy of most young parents today.” Hiring teachers, coaches, tutors and pastors is risky, because who knows what behaviors they’re going to model? No, the responsibility lies squarely on parents.
“George and I are not giving our opinion,” said Perkins. “It’s God’s Word. He’s the one that says parents are responsible for teaching their kids. So I can’t apologize for that.” Long before the invention of social science research techniques, God, in His infinite wisdom, designed a perfect mechanism for moral instruction — the family.
“A worldview isn’t just what you believe,” said Barna. “It’s also how you behave, because you do what you believe.” When confronted with the bleak outlook that Barna’s data show, we have two options. We can be paralyzed by anxiety and fear over what America is becoming, or we can trust that God, as always, will use these circumstances for his glory. “We have a remnant of about 15 million adults across the country that have a biblical worldview,” Barna reminded viewers. “God always uses a remnant.” (frc.org)
