Nancy L. Cohen: Nuance Matters in Abortion Debate
[Nancy L. Cohen is a historian and the author of "The Reconstruction of American Liberalism."]
The idea has taken hold that Americans have become more conservative on abortion. Sarah Palin put this new conventional wisdom to political work in a speech two weeks ago when she claimed polls showed "more Americans proudly proclaiming themselves as pro-life . . . and that's a huge victory."
She's not entirely wrong, but that doesn't mean she's right. You might be surprised to learn that only about 15% of Americans agree with the particulars of the "pro-life" policy of Palin's Republican Party. Or that, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, 59% of Americans want Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, if she is confirmed, to uphold Roe vs. Wade.
So what's the source of this new conventional wisdom?
Most of it stems from misleading media reporting abetted by partisan hype. Palin was specifically citing a Gallup poll released May 14 titled "The New Normal on Abortion: Americans More 'Pro-Life.' " When Americans surveyed were asked, "With respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro-choice or pro-life," a plurality of 47% responded pro-life, 2 percentage points more than answered pro-choice. Indeed, it was the release a year ago this month of this same poll that launched the now accepted idea that public opinion on abortion was trending conservative. For the first time ever, Gallup reported, more Americans (51%) identified themselves as pro-life than as pro-choice (42%)....
Read entire article at LA Times
The idea has taken hold that Americans have become more conservative on abortion. Sarah Palin put this new conventional wisdom to political work in a speech two weeks ago when she claimed polls showed "more Americans proudly proclaiming themselves as pro-life . . . and that's a huge victory."
She's not entirely wrong, but that doesn't mean she's right. You might be surprised to learn that only about 15% of Americans agree with the particulars of the "pro-life" policy of Palin's Republican Party. Or that, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, 59% of Americans want Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, if she is confirmed, to uphold Roe vs. Wade.
So what's the source of this new conventional wisdom?
Most of it stems from misleading media reporting abetted by partisan hype. Palin was specifically citing a Gallup poll released May 14 titled "The New Normal on Abortion: Americans More 'Pro-Life.' " When Americans surveyed were asked, "With respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro-choice or pro-life," a plurality of 47% responded pro-life, 2 percentage points more than answered pro-choice. Indeed, it was the release a year ago this month of this same poll that launched the now accepted idea that public opinion on abortion was trending conservative. For the first time ever, Gallup reported, more Americans (51%) identified themselves as pro-life than as pro-choice (42%)....