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CNN Live At Daybreak
America's Voice: Roe Versus Wade
Aired January 22, 2003 - 06:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Few issues in America are as emotional and divisive as abortion.
On this 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision legalizing abortion, we want to check in with Gallup Poll Editor-in- Chief Frank Newport in Princeton, New Jersey for an update on what Americans have to say now about abortion.
Good morning -- Frank.
FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP POLL: Good morning, Carol.
I would summarize it by saying Americans are ambivalent about abortion but do not want it banned and therefore, they support the idea of Roe versus Wade.
Let me show you the question we've been asking for almost 30 years now about abortion, should it be illegal in all cases, on the left? Should it be, rather, legal in all cases, on the left? Illegal in all cases, that's on the right. And in the middle there, should it be legal with limits? And you can see the big percent of Americans, the majority, right there in that mushy middle. They want it legal, but they want limits on it, and that really hasn't changed.
Here's a trend line. We started asking this question just a couple of years after the Roe decision, and you can see this bottom line there, which is the legal, has stayed about the same. And it's that top line, which is the middle, legal but restrictions, which has gone up and down. But as you can see all the way back to 1975, it really hasn't changed.
Now, in anticipation of this anniversary, we simply asked Americans was Roe versus Wade good or bad? And as you might anticipate from what I just showed you, by 53 to 30 Americans say Roe has been a good thing for the country rather than a bad thing. And that again represents the basic idea that Americans don't want abortion to be made unconstitutional, at least the majority don't -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, Frank, do men and women feel differently about abortion?
NEWPORT: Boy, I'm asked that question a lot. Everybody assumes women are more pro choice. They're not. There are very few differences. All of our data show that. This is the Roe versus Wade question I just showed you. Are men different than women? Well statistically not at all. Look at the similarity there. And we find this again and again when we ask about abortion, gender simply isn't a defining difference. Age is a difference. Old people are less supportive of abortion rights than young people, but not gender.
COSTELLO: Interesting. Frank Newport, many thanks to you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 22, 2003 - 06:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Few issues in America are as emotional and divisive as abortion.
On this 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision legalizing abortion, we want to check in with Gallup Poll Editor-in- Chief Frank Newport in Princeton, New Jersey for an update on what Americans have to say now about abortion.
Good morning -- Frank.
FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP POLL: Good morning, Carol.
I would summarize it by saying Americans are ambivalent about abortion but do not want it banned and therefore, they support the idea of Roe versus Wade.
Let me show you the question we've been asking for almost 30 years now about abortion, should it be illegal in all cases, on the left? Should it be, rather, legal in all cases, on the left? Illegal in all cases, that's on the right. And in the middle there, should it be legal with limits? And you can see the big percent of Americans, the majority, right there in that mushy middle. They want it legal, but they want limits on it, and that really hasn't changed.
Here's a trend line. We started asking this question just a couple of years after the Roe decision, and you can see this bottom line there, which is the legal, has stayed about the same. And it's that top line, which is the middle, legal but restrictions, which has gone up and down. But as you can see all the way back to 1975, it really hasn't changed.
Now, in anticipation of this anniversary, we simply asked Americans was Roe versus Wade good or bad? And as you might anticipate from what I just showed you, by 53 to 30 Americans say Roe has been a good thing for the country rather than a bad thing. And that again represents the basic idea that Americans don't want abortion to be made unconstitutional, at least the majority don't -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, Frank, do men and women feel differently about abortion?
NEWPORT: Boy, I'm asked that question a lot. Everybody assumes women are more pro choice. They're not. There are very few differences. All of our data show that. This is the Roe versus Wade question I just showed you. Are men different than women? Well statistically not at all. Look at the similarity there. And we find this again and again when we ask about abortion, gender simply isn't a defining difference. Age is a difference. Old people are less supportive of abortion rights than young people, but not gender.
COSTELLO: Interesting. Frank Newport, many thanks to you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
