Polls and Pols

Polls abound these days, signifying that there must be something important happening — like a presidential election. While polls provide just a snapshot of thought at the time the questions are asked, some ideas and issues have staying power in the minds of voters. Abortion is one of them.

I truly find it a grand testament to the work of the right-to-life movement that 35+ years after legalization, abortion remains an important issue of our times, present in the minds of the electorate.

Here are some findings from recent polls:

*62% of Americans will use abortion as a factor when they consider who they will back for president. 11% who identify as pro-abortion voters indicate the candidate must share their views. 15% who identify as pro-life voters say the candidate must share their views. This gives the pro-life candidate a 4% advantage. (Gallup poll conducted May 8-11, 2008)

*Abortion is the fourth most important political issue in the presidential race among younger voters between the ages of 18 and 34. (Virgin Mobile poll conducted at the end of May 2008)

*62% of young Americans between the ages of 17 and 29 say abortion should not be permitted or more strictly limited. 58% of adults agreed. (New York Times, CBS News and MTV poll conducted in June 2007)

*71% of Americans want abortion to either be illegal or limited to rare circumstances. (Gallup poll conducted in May 2008)

It’s our job this year, more than ever, to give the public information on candidate positions on right-to-life issues in not only the presidential race, but the critical races in our state legislature.

Barbara Lyons