The abortion debate: A new poll, plus experts and organizations

Posted on September 21st, 2009

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Two pending developments are contributing to an escalation of the nation’s long-standing debate over legalized abortion: health care reform and the anticipated release of proposals, developed by a White House task force, aimed at reducing abortion. This edition of ReligionLink provides resources to help reporters navigate the volatile issues at stake.

A large-scale survey from the Pew Forum released Thursday, Oct, 1, 2009, shows that opposition to legal abortion is growing. The surveys shows that the country is almost evenly divided between those who tend to support abortion rights (47 percent) and those who express opposition (44 percent) to abortion rights.

The poll also shows that positions on either pole seem to be hardening.

Health care reform and the abortion reduction task force are just two of the factors contributing to this volatile debate.

The election of Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights, after eight years of the presidency of George W. Bush, who opposed abortion rights, has also galvanized the pro-life movement. Added to this dynamic are the shooting death in May of George R. Tiller, a Kansas doctor who provided rare late-term abortions, and Obama’s nomination (and the subsequent Senate confirmation) of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Sotomayor is expected to support the right to abortion.

At this point, health care reform is providing the most fodder for debate. Opponents of abortion argue that current proposals will effectively pay for abortions with taxpayer dollars by requiring insurance plans to pay for them or subsidizing plans that pay for them. The Hyde Amendment, approved in 1976, prevents the federal government from using tax money to fund abortions through Medicaid. But the law’s application is less clear if the government establishes its own competitive health plan, or if the government assists in creating a new market in which the public could sort through various private insurance plans.

Abortion-rights activists say the current proposals in Congress do not violate the Hyde Amendment, and details of any eventual bill are likely to change before it reaches the president’s desk.

The proposals from a task force of opposing activists meeting under the direction of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council are expected sometime in the coming weeks and are likely to intensify and complicate the debate.

What’s new

Congress continues to work on health reform, and abortion funding is becoming an increasingly critical part of the debate. Read a Sept. 28, 2009 story in The New York Times, “Abortion Fight Complicates Debate on Health Care.”

The Pew Forum survey on abortion tracks attitudes going back several years and finds a distinct uptick in opposition to abortion rights since the inauguration of President Obama. See the poll results for many other insights into the public’s views.

More than 1,100 clergy and religious professionals have signed an open letter “affirming abortion as a morally justifiable decision.” The letter was organized under the auspices of the Religious Institute, a leading interfaith organization promoting sexual and reproductive rights.

The White House task force on abortion reduction proposals holds promise in the view of some, while others are skeptical, as this May 7, 2009, Wall Street Journal story recounts.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in to the Supreme Court in August. During her confirmation hearings she said she considers Roe v. Wade to be “settled law,” a phrase used by earlier Republican nominees. She said states should not put an undue burden on pregnant women seeking an abortion before a fetus has reached viability, meaning the baby could live on its own.

Obama appointed Regina M. Benjamin, a Catholic who attended a Catholic elementary school in her hometown of Daphne, Ala., as surgeon general. There is speculation about how her beliefs might affect her policy stances on issues like abortion and contraception.

Dr. George R. Tiller, who provided rare late-term abortions in Wichita, Kan., was shot to death in May in the foyer of his church as he handed out church bulletins. His death was considered a setback for both advocates and opponents of abortion rights.

Abortion opponents saw a parallel to the Tiller slaying in the Sept. 11, 2009, shooting death of a sidewalk abortion protester in Michigan, James Pouillon. The motive for the Pouillon killing was not clear, and the suspect in the case, Harlan Drake of Owosso, killed another man that morning and planned a third shooting, both apparently unrelated to abortion. But some abortion opponents focused on Pouillon’s death as an example of violence against abortion protesters.

Georgia approved the country’s first law allowing human embryos to be adopted the same way a baby can be adopted. Opponents say the measure is a backdoor attempt to grant legal rights to embryos.

IN CONGRESS

Twenty-eight bills involving abortion are pending in Congress. Among other things, the bills condemn Tiller’s death, call for research and services for women with post-abortion depression, prohibit discrimination against the unborn on the basis of sex or race and assert that human life begins at fertilization. The health reform bills now pending in Congress do not address abortion directly.

U.S. SUPREME COURT

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life published a report in September 2008 on key U.S. Supreme Court rulings on abortion.

The anti-abortion group Americans United for Life offers an assessment of Sotomayor on abortion.

Read the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The page includes links to Supreme Court and Circuit Court cases that have cited Roe v. Wade.

IN THE STATES

Experts say that abortion opponents, predicting that federal action for their agenda will be difficult with Obama in the White House and Democrats in control of both houses of Congress, are turning to state legislatures to advance their cause. Here are some of the year’s developments, according to Stateline.org:

  • Georgia approved the country’s first law allowing human embryos to be adopted.
  • Arizona became the 22nd state to require 24-hour waiting periods for women seeking abortions. Minors must show proof of parental consent.
  • Arkansas became the 15th state to ban the late-term abortion procedure known as partial-birth abortion.
  • Kansas, Ohio and North Dakota now require clinics to post notices informing women they cannot be coerced into having an abortion.
  • Kansas and North Dakota have new laws requiring doctors to offer women considering abortion the option of viewing an ultrasound photo of the fetus before they decide.
  • Utah joined eight other states to have a “fetal pain” law that requires doctors to offer women the option of receiving anesthesia for the fetus before an abortion.

Background

RELIGION-RELATED RESOURCES

Overviews of religious beliefs

Christian resources

Jewish resources

  • A white paper from the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice discusses Jewish perspectives on abortion.
  • ReligiousTolerance.org summarizes Jewish beliefs on abortion.

Muslim resources

  • On IslamOnline, a Muslim religious scholar writes about Islam’s stance on abortion.
  • The Web site ReligiousConsultation.org, which focuses on reproductive issues, offers this essay on Islamic thoughts on abortion.

Abortion-related ministries

  • The Web site AfterAbortion.org offers a listing of people and ministries around the country that offer post-abortion counseling. The group behind the site is lobbying both political parties to stop coerced abortions and support post-abortion therapy.

STUDIES AND STATISTICS

  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posts regular “abortion surveillance” abstracts, which document the numbers of legal abortions reported to the federal government. The latest online abstract is for 2005.
  • The Guttmacher Institute posts an overview on abortion in the United States. Among its findings: 78 percent of women having abortions report a religious affiliation.

POLLS

  • A May 2009 Gallup survey found that most Americans were identifying as pro-life for the first time since it began asking the question in 1995. The development led to speculation about a sea change on abortion after the relative stasis of recent decades. But a follow-up poll in July showed a return to a near split. Trinity College’s Mark Silk analyzed the shifts at his blog, Spiritual Politics.
  • The “pro-life” and “pro-choice” labels do not necessarily reflect respondents’ view on the legality of abortion, however. And it appears a small but steady majority of Americans remain in favor of legalized abortion. An August 2008 poll by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that 54 percent believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
  • The Web site PollingReport.com has a variety of polls on abortion.

ARTICLES

National sources

Regional sourcesORGANIZATIONS AGAINST ABORTION RIGHTS

  • Dr. Donna Harrison of Eau Claire, Mich., is president of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.  Contact the organization at 616-546-2639.
  • Jay Sekulow is head of the American Center for Law and Justice,  a law firm working to end abortion. Contact 757-226-2489.
  • Judie Brown is president and co-founder of American Life League in Virginia, which promotes anti-abortion legislation. Contact 540-659-4171.
  • Americans United for Life describes itself as “the first national pro-life organization in America.” Charmaine Yoest is president of the Chicago-based group. Contact through communications director Matthew Eppinette, 312-568-4701, matthew@aul.org.
  • Wendy Wright is president of Concerned Women for America,  which aims to bring biblical principles into all levels of public policy. Contact 202-488-7000.
  • Richard Land is president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and a frequent commentator on abortion and politics. Contact through Jill Waggoner, 615-782-8416, jwaggoner@erlc.com.
  • Tony Perkins is president of the Family Research Council, which is active in pushing anti-abortion legislation. Contact Maria Donovan, 202-393-2100.
  • Feminists for Life of America,  based in Alexandria, Va., opposes abortion in part through programs that push to expand resources and services for pregnant women on college campuses. Contact 703-836-3354, info@feministsforlife.org.
  • Karen Cross is political director of the National Right to Life Committee in Washington, D.C. The organization’s Web site lists affiliates. Contact 202-626-8800, NRLC@nrlc.org.
  • Randall Terry is founder of Operation Rescue and president of the Society for Truth and Justice. Contact Kathy Veritas, 904-687-9804.
  • Prolife America posts links to groups working to end abortion.
  • Deirdre McQuade is assistant director for policy and communications for the Pro-Life Secretariat of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  Contact 202-541-3070.
  • The Rev. Paul T. Stallsworth is president of the Taskforce of United Methodists on Abortion and Sexuality and editor of Lifewatch. He lives in Morehead City, N.C. Contact 252-726-2175.

ORGANIZATIONS FOR ABORTION RIGHTS

NATIONAL EXPERTS AGAINST ABORTION RIGHTS

  • Teresa S. Collett is a law professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, where she is described as a “passionate advocate for the protection of human life and the family.” She has assisted attorneys general in several states in defending laws restricting abortions. Contact through her assistant, Bethany Fletcher, 651-962-4830, or email her at tscollett@stthomas.edu.
  • Robert George holds the McCormick Chair in Jurisprudence at Princeton University and is founding director of its James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. He is co-author ofEmbryo: A Defense of Human Life (2008). George wrote in the Aug. 6, 2007, edition of the journal First Things about what he calls the scandal of prominent Catholics supporting abortion rights. Contact 609-258-3270, rgeorge@princeton.edu.

NATIONAL EXPERTS FOR ABORTION RIGHTS

  • Caitlin E. Borgmann is an associate professor at City University of New York School of Law and editor of the Reproductive Rights Prof Blog, which posts news about abortion and other reproductive rights issues. Borgmann has testified before several state legislatures about reproductive rights. Contact 718-340-4503.
  • Dr. Susan Wicklund is co-author of This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor (2007). Contact through the book’s publisher, Public Affairs, 212-397-6666, PublicAffairs@perseusbooks.com.

OTHER NATIONAL EXPERTS

  • David E. Joseph is program director at the Public Conversations Project, where he has facilitated dialogues between people and groups on opposing sides of the abortion debate. See an overview of the PCP’s abortion dialogues. Contact 617-923-1216, djoseph@publicconversations.org.

Regional sources

STATE-BY-STATE INFORMATION

  • Search Stateline.org for the latest in state activity on abortion. Stateline also posts a comprehensive backgrounder from 2007,  “States probe limits of abortion policy.”
  • The National Conference of State Legislatures’ Web site includes a page that links to information on abortion in the states.
  • The Center for Reproductive Rights provides a rundown on abortion bills making their way through state legislatures.
  • The National Organization for Women keeps track of abortion legislation on the state and federal levels.
  • NARAL Pro-Choice America, formerly the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, offers a state-by-state look at abortion legislation.
  • The Guttmacher Institute’s state center offers state-by-state information on abortion laws, trends and teen pregnancy rates.
  • The anti-abortion group Americans United for Life rates states on “protection-of-life” issues. In addition, the organization’s State Supreme Court Project assesses each state’s high court and forecasts what to expect in those courts should Roe v. Wade be overturned.

IN THE NORTHEAST

  • George J. Annas is professor and chairman of the health law department at the Boston University School of Public Health and an expert on abortion policy. Contact 617-638-4626, annasgj@bu.edu.
  • Jack M. Balkin is Knight professor of constitutional Law and the First Amendment and director of The Information Society Project at Yale Law School. He is an expert on abortion policy. Contact 203-432-1620, jack.balkin@yale.edu.
  • Michele Dillon is professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. She wrote “The American Abortion Debate: Culture War or Normal Discourse?” for the book The American Culture Wars: Current Contests and Future Prospects. Contact 603-862-2925, michele.dillon@unh.edu.
  • Richard Fallon is a constitutional law professor at Harvard. His article “If ‘Roe’ Were Overruled: Abortion and the Constitution in a Post-Roe World” appeared in the St. Louis University Law Journal (2007). Contact 617-495-3215, rfallon@law.harvard.edu.
  • Phillip B. Levine is a professor in the economics department at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. He wrote Sex and Consequences: Abortion, Public Policy and the Economics of Fertility. Contact 781-283-2162, plevine@wellesley.edu.
  • Laurence H. Tribe is a constitutional lawyer and Harvard University law professor. He wrote the book Abortion: The Clash of Absolutes. Contact through assistant Kathleen Curley 617-495-3097, tribe@law.harvard.edu.

IN THE EAST

  • Jonathan E. Brockopp is associate professor of history and religious studies at Penn State. He edited the book Islamic Ethics of Life: Abortion, War and Euthanasia. Contact 814-863-1338, brockopp@psu.edu.
  • Susan Carroll is senior scholar at Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics at the Center for American Women and Politics in New Brunswick, N.J. She is an expert on abortion politics. Contact 732-932-9384 ext. 235, scarroll@rci.rutgers.edu.
  • Faye Ginsburg is an anthropology professor at New York University. She wrote the book Contested Lives: The Abortion Debate in an American Community. Contact 212-998-8558, faye.ginsburg@nyu.edu.
  • Judith Hauptman is the E. Billi Ivry Professor of Talmud and Rabbinic Culture at The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. She wrote the article “Abortion: Where We Stand” for the journal United Synagogue Review. Contact 212-678-8000, juhauptman@jtsa.edu.
  • Harvey Kornberg is associate professor of political science at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J. He has expertise in abortion politics. Contact 609-896-5365, kornberg@rider.edu.
  • Marian Lief Palley is a political science professor at the University of Delaware in Newark and an expert on abortion politics. Contact 302-831-1938, mpalley@udel.edu.
  • Rita J. Simon is professor of justice, law and society for the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. She wrote the book Abortion: Statutes, Policies and Public Attitudes the World Over. Contact 202-885-2965, rsimon@american.edu.
  • James Trussell is professor of economics and public affairs and director of the Office of Population Research at Princeton University. He has expertise on the topic of abortion. Contact 609-258-4946, trussell@princeton.edu.
  • W. Clyde Wilcox is a government professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He wrote “Abortion, Gay Rights and Church-State Issues in the 2000 Campaign” for the book Religion and Liberal Democracy: Piety, Politics and Pluralism. Contact 202-687-5273, wilcoxc@georgetown.edu.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

  • Alan Abramowitz is a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta and an expert on abortion politics. Contact 404-727-0108, polsaa@emory.edu.
  • Simone M. Caron is an associate professor at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. She has studied the history of abortion. Contact 336-758-5556, caron@wfu.edu.
  • Neal Devins is a law professor at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. He is an expert on abortion law. Contact 757-221-3845, nedevi@wm.edu.
  • Stanley M. Hauerwas is professor of theological ethics at the Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, N.C. He wrote “Why Abortion Is a Religious Issue” for the book The Church and Abortion: In Search of New Ground for Response. Contact 919-660-3420 or through his assistant at carole.baker@duke.edu.
  • Abdulaziz A. Sachedina is the Frances Myers Ball Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and wrote the entry on abortion for the Encyclopaedia of the Qur’an. Contact 434-924-6725, aas@virginia.edu.
  • Christopher Tollefsen is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of South Carolina and co-author of the 2008 book Embryo: A Defense of Human Life. Contact 803-786-1030, tollefsen@sc.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

  • Donald P. Judges is a law professor at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He is an expert on the conflict over abortion rights. Contact 479-575-7571,  djudges@uark.edu.
  • Nancy Maveety is a political science professor at Tulane University in New Orleans who specializes in women’s issues. Contact 504-862-8300, nance@tulane.edu.
  • Martha I. Morgan is a Robert S. Vance Professor of Law at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Her area of study is abortion rights. Contact 205-348-1131, mmorgan@law.ua.edu.
  • The Rev. Kevin Wildes is president of Loyola University New Orleans. He wrote “The Sanctity of Human Life: Secular Moral Authority, Biomedicine and the Role of the State” for the book Sanctity of Life and Human Dignity. Contact loynopres@yahoo.com.

IN THE MIDWEST

  • Richard Duncan is a law professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an expert on abortion law. Contact 402-472-6044, rduncan2@unl.edu.
  • Timothy R. Johnson is Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis-St. Paul. He wrote the entry on Roe v. Wade for the Encyclopedia of American Religion and Politics. Contact 612-625-2907, trj@umn.edu.
  • The Rev. John F. Kavanaugh is a philosophy professor at St. Louis University. He wrote the book Who Counts as Persons? Human Identity and the Ethics of Killing. Contact 314-977-3159, kavanasj@slu.edu.
  • Ellen S. Lazarus is a professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and an expert in medical ethics and education and abortion politics. Contact ellen.lazarus@case.edu.
  • Daniel C. Maguire is a theology professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee and editor of Sacred Rights: The Case for Contraception and Abortion in World Religions. Contact 414-288-5508, daniel.maguire@marquette.edu.
  • Charles E. Rice is professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame law school. He wrote the article “Abortion, Euthanasia and the Need to Build a New Culture of Life” for the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy (1999). Contact 574-631-5667, Charles.E.Rice.1@nd.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

  • Robert M. Baird is a professor and chairman of the philosophy department at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He co-edited the book The Ethics of Abortion: Pro-Life Vs. Pro-Choice. Contact 254-710-3368, Robert_Baird@baylor.edu.
  • Francis Beckwith is a professor of philosophy and church-state studies at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He wrote Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice (2007). Contact 254-710-6464, Francis_Beckwith@baylor.edu.
  • Deborah R. McFarlane is a political science professor at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She co-wrote the book The Politics of Fertility Control. Contact 505-277-7130, dmcf@unm.edu.
  • Barbara Norrander is a political science professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson. She co-wrote the entry “Public Opinion and Policymaking in the States: The Case of Post-Roe Abortion Policy” for the book The Public Clash of Private Values: The Politics of Morality Policy. Contact 520-621-7600, norrande@arizona.edu.
  • J. Matthew Wilson is a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He is an expert on abortion politics. Contact 214-768-4054, jmwilson@mail.smu.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

  • Ted G. Jelen is a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has followed the role abortion politics plays in elections. He co-edited the book Abortion Politics in the United States: Studies in Public Opinion and co-wrote the book Between Two Absolutes: Public Opinion and the Politics of Abortion. Contact 702-895-3355, jelent@unlv.nevada.edu.
  • James C. Mohr is a history professor at the University of Oregon in Eugene. He is a nationally recognized expert on the abortion issue and author of Abortion in America: The Origins and Evolution of National Policy. He writes that the abortion debate has become a symbolic focal point for a variety of social issues. As a result, abortion politics now has an influence in Congress, the federal judiciary and American foreign policy. Contact 541-346-5903, jmohr@oregon.uoregon.edu.
  • Melody Rose is chair of the political science division of Portland State University’s Mark O. Hatfield School of Government. She founded and directs National Education for Women’s Leadership Oregon, and she is the author of Abortion: A Documentary and Reference Guide (2008) and Safe, Legal and Unavailable?: Abortion Politics in the United States. Contact 503-725-3137, rosem@pdx.edu.
  • John E. Seery is a professor of politics at Pomona College in Pomona, Calif. He is an expert on abortion politics and wrote the article “Moral Perfectionism and Abortion Politics” for the journal Polity (2001). Contact 909-607-2458, John_Seery@pomona.edu.
  • The Rev. Robert Spitzer is president of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. He wrote the book The Right to Life Movement and Third Party Politics. Contact 509-328-4200, president@gonzaga.edu.



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