Information Alert: Winning the Abortion Battle

Victoria Cobb, President
Friday, October 2, 2009

In late August, Democrat gubernatorial hopeful Creigh Deeds took what most political analysts said was a gamble when he began hammering Republican Bob McDonnell on the issue of abortion. Most thought Deeds' lackluster campaign was looking for an issue they thought would motivate their base at the risk of alienating those precious “independent” voters.

Yesterday, the Pew Foundation released a survey of voters across the nation that might indicate that the Deeds move was the wrong one. Said Pew, “Recently, Americans have become more opposed to legal abortion.”

The survey found that fewer Americans express support for abortion than in previous years. In fact, the division between those who believe abortion should be illegal in almost all cases is nearly even with those who believe it should be legal in most cases, a significant shift. And, the number of those who think we should make abortion more difficult to obtain has also increased.

But what should worry Deeds the most is that liberal Democrats polled have lost an extraordinary amount of intensity on the issues. According to Pew, “there has been a 26-point drop since 2006 in the proportion of liberal Democrats who say abortion is a critical issue, from 34% to 8%. So much for energizing the base.

As with any abortion poll, the news is mixed, but there is much good to be found in this survey. Once again we have a survey that indicates an important shift in public opinion away from abortion-on-demand. A survey done late last year found a higher percentage of Americans identified themselves as pro-life than ever before. This survey similarly indicates that Americans are rethinking the issue and may be shifting toward a more pro-life stance.

I believe that we are winning this issue on a daily basis by changing hearts and minds. It is nearly impossible to look at the beauty shown by an ultrasound and not recognize the humanity that exists. Any woman who has heard the heartbeat of her unborn child for the first time and then sees the image of that child inside her is drawn naturally to the conclusion that it is a human life worth defending!

As pro-life Americans have joined together for the next several weeks for 40 Days for Life, I urge you to join with them in praying for more hearts and minds to be changed. I urge you to give a call to your local pregnancy resource center and lend a hand. Reach out to a woman in crisis and provide for her needs. Together, through prayer and action, and through God’s blessing, we will one day live in a nation that respects all human life – born and unborn.