James
D. Davidson, "What Catholics Believe About
Abortion and the Death Penalty, Survey of U.S.
Catholics," National
Catholic Reporter,
September 30, 2005, http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2005c/093005/093005o.php
(accessed
June 27, 2008).
58% of
Catholics support keeping abortion legal.
[1]
69% of
Catholics say they feel no obligation to vote
against candidates who support abortion.
[1]
75% of
Catholics disapprove of denying communion to
Catholics who support legal abortion.
[1]
62% of
white Catholics support finding middle ground on
abortion. [2]
50%
of
Catholics believe that abortion should be legal
in at least some circumstances if not all
compared to 51% of the general public. [2]
Only
17% of all
Catholics think abortion should be illegal in all
circumstances compared to 11% of the general
population. [2]
57%
of
Catholics agree with the statement that it makes
no difference in moral terms whether a pregnant
woman chooses to have an abortion or a baby- it
is simply her choice- compared to 53% of the
entire population. [3]
73%
of
Catholics agree that the decision whether or not
to have an abortion should be left up to a woman,
her family and her doctor as compared to 72% of
the general population. [2]
78%
of
Catholics would look for common ground on the
issue of abortion compared to 74% of the general
population. [3]
Only
14% of
Catholics (12% of the general population) believe
that abortion should be illegal in all
circumstances.
60% of
Catholics and of the general population say it
should be legal in all or most circumstances. [3]
Only
25% of
Catholics (26% of the general population) are
against legislation meant to preserve a woman’s
right to choose abortion. [3]
[1] Belden Russonello
& Stewart, "Secular and Security-Minded: The
Catholic Vote in Summer 2008,"
Catholics
for Choice, July
2008.
[2]
Pew Research Center, "Pragmatic Americans Liberal
and Conservative on Social Issues," August 3,
2006, http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/283.pdf
(accessed
June 24, 2008).
[3] Third Way, "National Abortion Survey Weighted
Master Questionnaire," July 16, 2007.