Americans Support Roe v. Wade? - Oh those Pesky Facts.
by Ryan McCann

An AP story run in the Indianapolis Star on Tuesday, November 30th started with this headline, "Poll: 59% want a justice who backs Roe v. Wade." The AP-Ipsos poll question behind this headline asks if respondents are in favor of retaining the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision through potential nominees to the high court. This question is qualified by the following statement, "the 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade made abortion in the first three months of pregnancy legal."

This statement is very misleading because the point at which abortion becomes illegal is uncertain. In Roe, the Court states that the point at which abortion is legal depends on "viability" (a.k.a. the magical point during a pregnancy at which a baby becomes a human life). Federal cases following Roe, such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Stenberg v. Carhart have ruled against restrictions states have placed on abortion. In fact, the federal ban on partial-birth abortion was recently overturned by a federal court. Partial-birth abortions occur primarily within the 2nd or 3rd trimester. Thus, we are literally flirting with infanticide.

The American people overwhelmingly oppose abortion-on-demand, which partial-birth abortion provides. In an ABC News/Washington Post poll, 57% of respondents answered that abortion should not be used to "end unwanted pregnancy." 69% are opposed to partial-birth abortions. This poll shows overwhelming opposition to certain types of abortion, and neither ABC News nor the Washington Post is a friend of the pro-life movement.

The ignorance within the media on pro-life positions and the down-right bias in favor of abortion is unbelievable. A hard look at the facts and a dose of intellectual honesty can be a bitter pill to swallow for some in the media. Hopefully through alternative media and other avenues truth in reporting can gain ground.