Gallup: Most Americans 'Pro-Life'

What does this mean?

It means Obama and the Democrats are out of touch with the views of most Americans.

In the age of Obama, the most radical anti-life president ever to be elected, more Americans consider themselves to be pro-life.

Obama's assault on the unborn and his extremist anti-life agenda run counter to the views of the majority of Americans.

PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll, conducted May 7-10, finds 51% of Americans calling themselves "pro-life" on the issue of abortion and 42% "pro-choice." This is the first time a majority of U.S. adults have identified themselves as pro-life since Gallup began asking this question in 1995.

The new results, obtained from Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey, represent a significant shift from a year ago, when 50% were pro-choice and 44% pro-life. Prior to now, the highest percentage identifying as pro-life was 46%, in both August 2001 and May 2002.

The May 2009 survey documents comparable changes in public views about the legality of abortion. In answer to a question providing three options for the extent to which abortion should be legal, about as many Americans now say the procedure should be illegal in all circumstances (23%) as say it should be legal under any circumstances (22%). This contrasts with the last four years, when Gallup found a strong tilt of public attitudes in favor of unrestricted abortion.

...Americans' recent shift toward the pro-life position is confirmed in two other surveys. The same three abortion questions asked on the Gallup Values and Beliefs survey were included in Gallup Poll Daily tracking from May 12-13, with nearly identical results, including a 50% to 43% pro-life versus pro-choice split on the self-identification question.

This leads me to believe that Election 2008 was not an endorsement of Obama's agenda across the board.

America is not a liberal country in terms of values. Economic issues trumped other issues in 2008. The values voters that helped elect President Bush to his second term chose to vote their wallets in the 2008 election.

Nonetheless, more Americans than ever share the views of Sarah Palin rather than Obama when it comes to abortion and respect for life.

Gallup cites the Notre Dame controversy, Obama being invited to speak at commencement and receive an honorary degree from the Catholic university, as having an impact on the findings.

One of the more prominent news stories touching on the abortion issue in recent months involves President Barack Obama's commencement speech and the bestowal of an honorary doctorate degree on him at the University of Notre Dame -- a Roman Catholic institution -- on Sunday. The invitation has drawn criticism from conservative Catholics and the church hierarchy because of Obama's policies in favor of legalizing and funding abortion, and the controversy might have been expected to strengthen the pro-life leanings of rank-and-file Catholics.

Nevertheless, the swelling of the pro-life position since last year is seen across Christian religious affiliations, including an eight-point gain among Protestants and a seven-point gain among Catholics.

Perhaps Notre Dame did a good thing after all when the university chose to honor the extremist anti-life Obama and draw attention to his war on the unborn.

The speaking invitation and honorary degree may have raised awareness about Obama's radical views, breathing new life into the anti-abortion movement.

Gallup concludes:

With the first pro-choice president in eight years already making changes to the nation's policies on funding abortion overseas, expressing his support for the Freedom of Choice Act, and moving toward rescinding federal job protections for medical workers who refuse to participate in abortion procedures, Americans -- and, in particular, Republicans -- seem to be taking a step back from the pro-choice position. However, the retreat is evident among political moderates as well as conservatives.

It is possible that, through his abortion policies, Obama has pushed the public's understanding of what it means to be "pro-choice" slightly to the left, politically. While Democrats may support that, as they generally support everything Obama is doing as president, it may be driving others in the opposite direction.

Clearly, Obama's Leftist views on abortion are at odds with mainstream America.

I don't expect that to push him to moderate his stance on the wholesale killing of the unborn. Obama knows that he has to do the bidding of the most radical of the anti-life proponents; and he's completely comfortable with that. He's personally on board with their extremism.

The results of this poll are important in that they illustrate Americans' views are not fully compatible with Obama's vision for the country. They oppose the sort of change Obama wants to impose on their values in respect to protecting innocent human life.

To the extent that the Republican Party is pro-life and most Americans are pro-life, I think the Leftists have been far too cavalier in declaring the demise of the GOP.

The economic turmoil that drove more voters to Obama in 2008 may not be what drives them in 2010 and 2012.
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From the New York Times: On Abortion, Obama Is Drawn Into Debate He Hoped to Avoid

Douglas W. Kmiec, a constitutional scholar and former Notre Dame professor who was an outspoken critic of abortion when he worked for Presidents Ronald Reagan and the elder George Bush, said he had been advising the White House to use the speech at the university on Sunday to tackle the controversy head on, with the president making the case that “we already have agreement, we both respect life, we both view abortion as a moral tragedy.”

But as to whether Mr. Obama can indeed transcend the culture wars, Mr. Kmiec sounded uncertain.

“If there’s anybody who can, it’s the president,” he said. “Whether the culture wars will let him is the question, and the answer is unknown.”

What a crock!

You can always count on the NYT to try and spin the "unspinnable."

It's ridiculous to suggest that Obama and pro-life proponents are in agreement: "We both respect life."

That's a flat-out lie.

Obama does not respect the lives of the weak, the vulnerable, and the unborn. His words and his actions attest to that.

Talk about putting lipstick on a pig!