Abortion advocates are seeking a new message. The fact that abortion hurts women has finally caught up with them. Even expressions like “right to choose” and “my choice” no longer generate support from swing voters. NARAL and Planned Parenthood’s agitation about contraceptives, especially the morning after pill, already reflects a change in emphasis by organizations that have promoted abortion. According to a Newsweek report, a Democratic think tank called Third Way is testing new terminology and messages in an attempt to reach uncommitted voters.

We may soon be hearing about “personal freedom” rather than “choice”. Maybe we will be encouraged to foster a “culture of freedom and responsibility” instead of a culture of life. For the really daring among abortion supporters, they may try to go on the attack to reclaim the term “life” by labeling pro-life groups “anti-life” through claims their policies on environmental issues result in high infant mortality rates and birth defects.

What is motivating this search for a new message? Election losses is one answer. Beyond that, recent polling data is not favorable for abortion supporters. According to a CBS/New York Times poll of women between the ages of 18-29, only 28% favor making abortion “available to anyone who wants it” compared to 49% in 1993. In 2005, 40% think abortion should be “available, but with stricter limits,” compared to 30% in 1993. Those who think abortion should “not be permitted” has reached 30%, compared to 19% in 1993. Overall, this means that 70% of women between the ages of 18-29 now want more restrictions on abortion while only 28% want abortion on demand. This is a significant difference from the even split that existed in 1993.

How is such a difference reflected in polls about political issues that surround abortion and the Roe v. Wade decision? A July poll, commissioned by American Values and the American Family Association, finds voters favor a “more conservative” — over a “more liberal” — U.S. Supreme Court by 50 to 30 percent. The poll also found that 65% of those surveyed disagreed with the Supreme Court’s 2000 decision overturning a state ban on partial-birth abortions. Additionally, 61% of respondents agree with the statement: “The U.S. Senate should give both Republican and Democratic presidents wide discretion in selecting nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court.” Apparently, the public does not have any serious concerns that President Bush’s Supreme Court nominees may one day help overturn the Roe v. Wade decision. This result does not provide abortion supporters much ammunition in their attempt to block Bush’s nominations to the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, on the legislative front, a new poll conducted by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute finds an overwhelming majority of Americans strongly back measures that would place limits on abortion. Over 70% of those polled indicated they favor “a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion before the abortion could take place.” Only 24% opposed the idea. The same poll found 74% of the public favors requiring abortion businesses to notify parents before a minor girl can have an abortion. Just 21% of those polled oppose parental involvement. The poll also found that 76% of Americans believe partial-birth abortions should be illegal except when necessary to save the life of the mother. Only 15% support the partial-birth abortion procedure. Pro-abortion opposition to such laws is certainly not mainstream.

Bill Beckman