A new CNN poll on abortion finds almost no change in America’s desire to remain pro-choice. The poll finds 78% of Americans want abortion to be legal under any circumstances or under certain circumstances, and only 21% want abortion illegal under all circumstances. One year ago, 77% were pro-choice, in 2009, 76%, and in 2008, 77%. Five years ago, 74% were pro-choice, and 24% wanted abortion totally illegal.
Remarkably, regardless of gender, 21% of Americans want abortion to be illegal, while 19% of whites and 25% of non-whites want abortion to be illegal.
The groups wanting abortion to become illegal at the highest levels include conservatives (31%), those with no college education (28%), those who reside in rural areas (26%), and Tea Party supporters (35%).
These numbers remain largely unchanged all the way back to the mid-1990s. In 1995, for example, the CNN poll found 85% of Americans were pro-choice, and 12% wanted abortion illegal.
The Supreme Court ruled abortion was a civil right in the 1973 case, Roe v. Wade.
You may be a bit surprised to read this, as right wing extremist “news” sites have decided to reinterpret these numbers to mean the opposite. For example, the “news” site LifeSite News glaringly falsely published an article Thursday, “CNN Poll: 62% Want All or Most Abortions Made Illegal.”
Yes, in the alternate universe of the religious LifeSite News, numbers are fungible.
The same poll found a whopping 74% of Americans want the Department of Education. Period.
“Do you think the federal government’s Department of Education should continue to exist, or do you think it should be eliminated completely?” 74% said, “continue to exist.” 24% said “eliminated completely.”
86% of non-whites and 70% of whites want the Dept. of Education to remain, along with 87% of those 18-34 years old, 91% of Democrats, and 52% of Republicans.
In fact the only group that does not give the Dept. of Education a thumbs up is the Tea Party, with only 44% supporting it.