By Dave Andrusko
As even a couple of British newspapers remarked, there is a startling disconnect between the push to remove all limitations on abortions and public opinion polls which show more and more sentiment for more and more limitations.
The latest numbers, from a poll conducted by ComRes, commissioned by Where Do They Stand and published in the Mail on Sunday, provoked this headline from the Spectator: “A new poll shows there is a good deal of unease with the current abortion law.”
That is, “a good deal of unease” with the current law that allows abortions up through the 24th week and essentially on demand if the child is prenatally diagnosed with a “significant disability,” which can and has included cleft palates.
Here’s the contrast between where the public is and the abortion activists are in a nutshell, as captured by the Mail on Sunday:
Almost two-thirds of people interviewed for the ComRes survey said the upper limit should be lowered from the current 24 weeks to 20 weeks – with a fifth saying it should be reduced to 12 weeks.
And despite mounting pressure from pro-abortion campaigners for the ‘decriminalisation’ of abortion, which would effectively scrap the 24-week limit altogether, only one per cent of those polled backed the idea.
As illuminating as those numbers are, it is the specific categories of abortions a majority would forbid and the recognition that abortion is often not simple a “woman’s choice” that is even more telling. For example, according to Melanie McDonagh’s summary
* 70% of women would like the current time limit for abortion to be lowered.
* 59% of women would like the abortion time limit lowered to 16 weeks or lower.
* 65% oppose UK taxpayer money being spent on abortions overseas.
* 93% of women want independent abortion counselling introduced.
* 91% of women want a sex-selective abortion ban.
* 70% of parents want introduction of parental consent for girls 15 and under to get abortions.
* 79% of general population want a five-day consideration period before abortion.
* 84% of women want improved pregnancy support for women in crisis.
* 76% of population want introduction of doctors verifying women not coerced.
Startling numbers that tell us that there huge majorities for (a) helping women in crisis pregnancy situations, (b) resisting using tax payer money on paying for abortions overseas, (c) ensuring parental involvement, (d) allowing for a “pause” of five days for women to consider their decision, and (d)a whopping 93% who want someone other than the abortionist and his staff counseling women.
‘It is clear that the British public oppose any drive to further liberalise the law, and rather want to see women and children protected through a combination of better practical help for women and a reduced time limit,” said Ryan Day, senior policy officer for ADF International. “As a society we should create an environment in which all parents feel able to welcome their children into the world.”