New Poll Finds Most Americans Support Abortion Restrictions

Even among supporters of abortion, there is widespread agreement that the federal government should not force taxpayers to pay for it.

A pro-life crowd rallies at the Colorado State Capitol on Jan. 21, 2017.
A pro-life crowd rallies at the Colorado State Capitol on Jan. 21, 2017. (photo: (Photo credit: Archdiocese of Denver Respect Life Office))

Americans – regardless of their political affiliation – overwhelmingly oppose the use of tax dollars to support abortion overseas. According to a Marist Poll sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and released January 23, some 83% of Americans want an end to U.S. funding of abortion in other countries. And already President Trump, in one of the first executive orders in his presidency, on January 23 restored the Mexico City policy, which bans federal funds from being used to fund abortions.

What's more, a majority (6 out of 10) also oppose the use of tax dollars to fund abortion here in the United States.

Even among supporters of abortion, there is widespread agreement that the federal government should not force taxpayers to pay for it. According to the Marist Poll, which was conducted by telephone on December 12-19, 2016, and released January 23, nine in ten Trump supporters (87 percent) and even nearly four in 10 Clinton supporters (39 percent) oppose tax funding of abortion.

The poll also demonstrates a clear bi-partisan consensus on limiting abortion to – at most – the first trimester, with a majority of Clinton supporters (55 percent) and more than nine in 10 Trump supporters (91 percent) saying they support such limits.

According to the poll of 2,729 English- and Spanish-speaking adults, most Americans (78 percent) think that the law can protect both the well-being of a woman and the life of her unborn child.

Carl Anderson, CEO of the Knights of Columbus, said, “There is a consensus in America in favor of significant abortion restrictions, and this common ground exists across party lines, and even among significant numbers of those who are pro-choice. This poll shows that large percentages of Americans, on both sides of the aisle, are united in their opposition to the status quo as it relates to abortion on demand. This is heartening and can help start a new national conversation on abortion.”

The poll revealed that almost six in 10 Americans (59 percent), regardless of their views on whether abortion should remain legal, believe that abortion is morally wrong. This includes eight in 10 Trump supporters and nearly four in 10 Clinton supporters (37 percent).

Nearly eight in 10 Americans (78 percent) think laws can protect both the well-being of a woman and the life of her unborn child.

Full results of the survey can be found at the Knights of Columbus website.

President Trump Ends International Abortion Funding

President Donald Trump, on the first weekday of his presidency and just one day after the 44th anniversary of the Supreme Court's infamous Roe v. Wade decision, took the first step to change America's pro-abortion politics. This morning in the Oval Office, the President signed an executive order restoring the Mexico City Policy, which bans federal funds from being used to fund abortions.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, applauded the President's memorandum and released a statement which said, in part,

"We applaud President Trump's action today to restore the Mexico City Policy, which withholds taxpayer funds from foreign non-governmental organizations that promote or perform abortions overseas (often in violation of the host country's own laws). This is a welcome step toward restoring and enforcing important federal policies that respect the most fundamental human right—the right to life—as well as the long-standing, bi-partisan consensus against forcing Americans to participate in the violent act of abortion."

First enacted by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, the Mexico City Policy was rescinded by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1993, reinstituted in 2001 as Republican President George W. Bush took office, then rescinded again in January 2009, three days after President Barack Obama took office. As a pro-life Administration gets to work in Washington D.C., Catholics and other pro-life Americans look forward in the hope that federal funding for abortion will be ended in our country as well, and that additional restrictions will be enacted in the weeks and months to come.