Poll: Americans more pro-life but still don't grasp how far Roe goes

Published: 2006-04-27

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Thirty-three years after Roe v. Wade, most Americans still do not understand the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in nearly all circumstances, according to poll results released April 25 in Washington. Although 65 percent of respondents to a recent survey said they were very familiar or somewhat familiar with Roe v. Wade, only 29 percent were able to select the most accurate description of the decision from among four options, said Karen Smith of the polling company at a Washington press conference. Most respondents -- a total of 50 percent -- chose an incorrect description, saying Roe made abortion legal only in the first trimester (18 percent), only in limited circumstances (17 percent) or only in the first and second trimester (15 percent). Another 15 percent said they did not know, while 1 percent each said the correct description of Roe was "other" or "all of the above," 3 percent said "none of the above" and 2 percent refused to answer. The margin of error for the national poll, conducted by telephone April 13-14 among 1,000 adult Americans, was plus or minus 3.1 percent.

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .