Sunday 3 May 2009

Americans Evenly Divided on Abortion

According to a recent Pew Research poll, support for abortion in the US has declined dramatically since August - by a full 8 percentage points - meaning that Americans are now almost evenly split on the issue. Last August, support for the legality of Abortion in all/most cases was at 54%, while the opposition was at 41%. Now, the figures are 46% and 44%, respectively.

This is a massive indictment against the unambiguously pro-abortion stance of the present Democratic administration. President Obama has expanded federal funding for abortion and research on embryos, and Hillary Clinton has confirmed that the government will support 'reproductive rights' across the globe. However, as the poll shows, this goes directly against the trend seen in the general population. The Democrats are always banging on about their 'democratic' and 'inclusive' credentials, but what's so democratic about this?

Interestingly, there has been an equivalent increase in support for gun rights.* Strangely, it looks as if Americans are veering more to the 'right' simultaneously with, or immediately after, electing a Democratic President and Congress. Regrets, anyone?

*I want to make an observation about gun rights, because in Europe this kind of thing is easily dismissed as a sign of the crankiness of 'right-wing' Americans, along with opposition to abortion. The reason why very few people in most European countries own guns is not because we're idealistic pascifists but because our governments have historically posed strict restrictions on gun ownership - mostly to prevent popular uprisings. The US developed in completely different circumstances where it was in many places absolutely necessary to own a gun due to a lack of law enforcement and presence of hostile indigenous tribes. This, along with a general (and not unfounded) scepticism towards the state and a set of ideals extolling the freedom and autonomy of the individual, has contributed to create the conviction that it is a basic right of citizens to possess the necessary means to defend themselves from violent attack - a right which the Supreme Court has ruled is inherent in the Constitution. Greater control over gun ownership is difficult to accomplish without curtailing this civil right, which is the reason why many Americans are sceptical of such an endeavour.

Via LifeSiteNews.

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