… and thus, they believe that a fetus is a person with rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
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Some interesting survey data from Pew…
Let’s start with the overall context.
Should abortion be legal in all or most cases?
While there has been a recent upward trend in the percentage of Americans who think that abortion should be legal in all cases, the current percentage is now the same as it was 25 years ago.
Similarly, the current percentage of Americans who think that abortion should be illegal in all cases is now the same as it was 25 years ago.
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Does human life begin at conception?
Probably not coincidental to the above findings, the “illegal in all cases” percentage is practically identical to the overall percentage of Americans who believe that “human life begins at conception, so a fetus is a person that has human rights” to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
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The question of when human life begins is central to the abortion debate.
Of the 44% of Republicans who do not think that life begins at conception (100% minus 56%), 86% agree that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Among Democrats, 77% do not think that life begins at conception …. 80% think that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Hmm.
It’s likely that the 20% of Dems who do not think that abortion should be legal in all cases are those in the 23% who think that life begins at conception.
Note that the percentage of Democrats thinking that abortion should be legal in all cases has trended upward in the past 15 years … the percentage of Republicans thinking that abortion should be legal in all or most cases has stayed constant over the same period.
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What about mother’s health and rape cases?
While percentages are higher among Democrats, a majority in both political parties agree that abortion should be legal when a mother’s health is threatened … and in rape cases.
Note: There are varied interpretations of “threatens the woman’s health” … ranging from serious disability or death … to minor depression or lifestyle changes.
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What about unhealthy babies?
A slim majority thinks that abortion should be legal in all cases when the baby is likely to be born with severe disabilities or health problems … an additional 25% thinks that “it depends” … only 1 in 5 firmly rule it out.
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Bottom line
The question of when life begins is central to where people stand on the abortion issue.
Reminder: Hillary Clinton, in a classic Freudian slip, acknowledged of “unborn persons deserving rights” … and President Biden, has recently referred to “unborn children”.
Draw your own conclusions…
The Homa Files 