Even evangelicals don't want total abortion ban

by Mike Andrew - SGN Staff Writer

The majority of US Christians say they are "pro-choice," according to a new survey by the research firm Magid.

The survey, based on online interviews with 1,000 adults nationwide aged 18 to 69, was commissioned by Save the Storks, a self-proclaimed "pro-life" organization.

According to the survey, 25% of all respondents identify themselves as "pro-life," in other words opposed to legal abortion. In contrast, 40% identified as "pro-choice."

Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they were "neither or a mix of both," while 7% said they "don't know."

When broken down by religious background, 47% of self-identified evangelicals, 33% of mainline Protestants, and 27% of Catholics identified themselves as "pro-life."

Thirty percent of evangelicals, 33% of Catholics, and 26% of mainline Protestants said they were "neither or a mix of both."

Only 18% of evangelical respondents identified themselves as "pro-choice," while 34% of Catholics and 36% of mainline Protestants said the same thing.

As for respondents who identified themselves as "non-religious," only 14% identified as "pro-life" and 53% identified as "pro-choice."

Although the plurality of respondents that participated in the survey identified as "pro-choice," only 27% said they think abortion should be legal in all cases, while 14% of all respondents said that abortion should be illegal in all cases.

Thirty-four percent of self-identified pro-life respondents said they think abortion should be illegal in all cases, while 52% said it should illegal in most cases. Ten percent of pro-life respondents said abortion should be legal in most cases and 4% said abortion should be legal in all cases.

Of the 40% of respondents who said they were pro-choice, 52% believe that abortion should be legal in all cases, while 36% said it should be legal in most cases. Seven percent of pro-choice respondents said abortion should be illegal in all cases and 5% said it should be illegal in most cases.

For respondents who said they were "neither or a mix" of pro-choice and pro-life, 30% believe that abortion should be illegal in most cases, while 51% believe that abortion should be legal in most cases.

Only 25% of evangelicals believe that abortion should be illegal in all cases, while 33% said that abortion should be illegal in most cases. Fifteen percent of evangelicals believe that abortion should be legal in all cases, and 27% of evangelicals believe it should be legal in most cases.

Strikingly, given the vocal opposition of the Catholic hierarchy to abortion, only 16% of Catholics believe that abortion should be illegal in most cases. Eighteen percent of mainline Protestants agree.

Thirty-eight percent of Catholics said abortion should be legal in most cases, while 28% of mainline Protestants said the same thing.

Nearly one-quarter of all respondents (23%) said that "yes," they would consider abortion to be an option if they or their partners became pregnant. Meanwhile, 21% of respondents said "maybe" and 50% said "no."