Abortion Plays Small Role in Health Reform Opposition
Raymond
Though Most Oppose Public Funding
November 19, 2009
While most Americans oppose government funding of abortion, a new Pew
Research Center survey finds that concern about abortion funding plays
only a small role in driving opposition to the health care reform
legislation under consideration by Congress.
When health care opponents are asked in an open-ended question to
describe their main reason for opposing the congressional proposals,
just 3% raise the issue of abortion funding.
Even when they are asked to choose among a list of reasons, fewer than
one-in-ten (8%) opponents of health care legislation say the most
important reason for their opposition is the possibility that
government money might pay for abortions. Although a majority of
health reform opponents (56%) cite the abortion issue as one of the
major factors for them, far greater percentages cite concerns about
big government, costs and the impact of reform on people's own
coverage.
The new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life finds the public now
divided over the health care proposals in Congress, with 42% in favor
and 39% opposed. Earlier this month, before the House voted on its
bill, 38% supported the reform proposals and 47% were opposed. The
current poll was conducted Nov. 12-15 among 1,003 adults on landlines
and cell phones.
A 55% majority of Americans say that abortion should not be included
as a guaranteed medical benefit if the government health care reform
plan passes. Only about half as many (28%) say it should be included.
The public was more evenly divided in a comparable Gallup survey
conducted during the health care debate in 1994. At that time 42% said
abortion should be covered by government benefits while 49% said it
should not be. More than seven-in-ten (72%) of those who oppose the
legislation say coverage of abortion should not be included in
government benefits. Even among Americans who favor health care
reform, a 46% plurality says abortion should not be included in
government benefits, while 35% say it should be.
But when respondents in the survey were asked to explain, in their own
words, the main reasons for supporting or opposing the reform
proposals, few brought up abortion funding. Supporters of reform cite
the expansion of coverage to the uninsured (32%), the need for change
(17%) and the need to control costs (14%) as most important to them.
Opponents of reform mainly cite either the cost (27%) or the increased
role that government would play (27%). Other reasons for opposition
include the complexity of the legislation (8%) or skepticism that
reforms won't work (8%). Few opponents of reform -- just 3% --
volunteer abortion as a principal reason for their opposition.
Even when respondents were specifically asked about government funding
for abortion in the context of health care reform, the issue ranks at
the bottom of a list of possible reasons for opposing the legislation.
While 56% of opponents say the issue of government funds possibly
paying for abortions is a "major reason" they oppose the bill, that
ranks far below other arguments against the bill. Fully 85% say that
"too much government involvement in health care" is a major reason for
their opposition, and nearly as many (78%) say this about the expense
of health care reform. Seven-in-ten (70%) say concern that their own
health care might suffer is a major reason they oppose the
legislation, and nearly as many (67%) say the possibility that reform
might cover illegal immigrants is a major reason for opposing it.
White evangelical Protestants (74%) and white Catholics (72%) were
more likely than white mainline Protestant opponents of reform to say
that abortion funding was a major reason for their views. But even
within these religious groups, larger shares list the expansion of
government as a major factor. Nearly all opponents of the legislation
cited multiple concerns as major reasons for their position, and not
one cited abortion as the only major reason they opposed the bills
before Congress. In other words, every single person who said abortion
funding was a major reason that they opposed the bill also cited one
or more other major reasons.
When asked to choose the single most important issue from a list of
possible reasons, 8% of opponents selected abortion funding. This
translates into just 3% of all Americans who both oppose the
legislation and say abortion funding is the main reason for their
position. Among opponents, concern about too much government
involvement topped the list, with 38% saying it was the most important
reason, followed by 27% who cited the expense of reform. Fewer cited
the risk to their own health care (14%) or the possibility that
illegal immigrants might be covered (7%).
Abortion funding is rarely cited as the key factor behind opposition
to the health care bills even among white Catholics and evangelical
Protestants. While 84% of white evangelical Protestants say they
oppose allowing abortions to be included in government medical
benefits, just 10% of those who oppose the bill say this is the most
important reason of the five factors asked about. Similarly, 63% of
white Catholics oppose the idea of government funding going toward
abortions, but just 11% of white Catholics who oppose health
legislation say this is the biggest factor in their position. And just
4% of the white evangelicals and 3% of the white Catholics who oppose
the health legislation before Congress volunteer abortion as their
main concern in an open-ended question.
The debate over abortion funding and health care flared up just prior
to the reform bill's passage by the House on Nov. 7. Yet, if anything,
opposition to health reform has declined somewhat since earlier this
month, before the House passed its version. Currently, 39% oppose the
health care bills being debated in Congress, down 8 points, while 42%
favor them. But a significant number of Americans remain uncertain
about the proposals -- nearly one-in-five (19%) say they don't know
how they feel about the legislation at this point
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1417/abortion-plays-small-role-in-health-reform-opposition