Is the nation really 'split' on abortion? Two researchers think we're asking the wrong questions

Rss@dailykos.com (kerry Eleveld) · Monday, April 20, 2015, 4:27 pm
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This is some fascinating stuff about whether pollsters have been approaching the abortion question all wrong. Public opinion researchers Tresa Undem and Kate Stewart think there's two problems: 1) abortion is a very complex subject and we've been asking people to give very simplistic absolutist answers; 2) we've continually asked about legality when it's been legal since 1973. Tara Culp-Ressler has the details:

Most major pollsters ask Americans to indicate whether their beliefs align with one of the following four categories: Abortion should be legal in all cases; abortion should be legal in most cases; abortion should be illegal in most cases; or abortion should be illegal in all cases. Some polls also ask people whether they consider themselves and their policy positions to be "pro-choice" or "pro-life."

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Asking about legality is the wrong angle to take, according to Undem and Stewart, because it leaves no room for the personal dimension of attitudes toward abortion access. Many people are morally opposed to abortion, yet don't necessarily think it should be out of reach for other people who feel differently, and they may struggle with not knowing how to represent both of those views equally. (To address that, Advocates for Youth has experimented with asking polling questions like, "Regardless of your own views on abortion, do you think women should be able to access abortion?")
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Plus, questions about constitutional law may not be particularly relevant to most people. "Abortion has been legal for 40 years. So part of me wonders why we're still polling on legality," Undem told ThinkProgress.
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So here's a different type of question Undem posed recently posed in a poll she did for Vox: If a woman decided to have an abortion, would you hope her experience was "supportive" and "nonjudgmental" and "informed by medically accurate information"? According to Undem, at least 69 percent of respondents said "yes" when the question was framed this way, which suggests the public might not be quite as divided as we've been told on the matter.
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