New poll: Americans oppose taxpayer-funded abortion, support limiting abortion

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump took action to cease taxpayer funding of abortion overseas, reinstating the Mexico City Policy and effectively defunding International Planned Parenthood and Marie Stopes International.

While pro-abortion groups have been quick to claim that Trump’s action is extreme and dangerous and that his pro-life views are far outside the mainstream, a new Marist poll sheds light on how Americans really feel about their taxpayer dollars going to fund abortions.

According to the poll, a whopping 83% of respondents said they either oppose or strongly oppose using tax dollars to support abortion in other countries. The question was asked very generally; it is quite likely that the percentage of those opposed to funding abortion in other nations would increase if asked in context of International Planned Parenthood, for example, which has worked hand-in-hand with China in its coercive population control policies, which have led to countless forced abortions.

In addition to opposing the use of tax dollars to support abortion in other countries, 61% of respondents said they either oppose or strongly oppose the use of tax dollars to pay for abortions. In short, according to the poll, a large majority of Americans oppose taxpayer-funded abortions, both internationally and domestically.

The poll offers some other interesting revelations as well, such as the result that nearly three in four Americans — including a majority of pro-choice residents — want significant restrictions on abortion. When asked which one of several positions most closely represented their opinion on abortion, 54% of pro-choice respondents chose one of the following: only during the first three months of a pregnancy, only in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother, only to save the life of the mother, or should never be permitted under any circumstance — all of which imply significant restrictions on abortion. The percentage of pro-life respondents who chose one of these options was 96%, while the overall percentage was 74%.

Interestingly, only 16% of respondents (including only 26% of pro-choice respondents) agreed that abortion should be available to a woman any time during her entire pregnancy. The poll also demonstrated that, while faith certainly plays a role in the abortion debate for many, being actively religious or fundamentalist is not a requirement for being pro-life. 64% of respondents who “do not practice their faith” supported considerable restrictions on abortion.

As Guy Benson reported for Townhall:

Abortion supporters habitually seek to cast pro-life sentiment as “extreme” and limited to a loud, anti-women minority of voters, but the data betrays that framing as cynical and wishful partisan spin. In reality, many pro-life positions aren’t merely solidly mainstream, but actually widely-supported, including among majorities of American women.

No matter how much big business abortion yells that pro-lifers are “extreme,” “fringe,” “anti-woman,” etc., these claims are just not supported by the data. A large — and hopefully growing — percentage of Americans believes in the value of human life and is willing to stand up for that belief. And an even larger percentage does not want their tax dollars going to fund abortions.