58% of Americans Are not in Favor of Abortion

The New York Times has released the results of a poll which shows that a majority of Americans are opposed to almost all forms of abortion, despite the mainstream media’s insistence on a pro-choice bias.

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat wrote an opinion piece on the subject during the controversy over the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation’s decision, which was later rescinded, to defund Planned Parenthood.

In his column, “The Media’s Abortion Blinders,” Douthat notes that in a recent poll, 58 percent of Americans stated that abortion should either be “illegal in all circumstances” or “legal in only a few circumstances.”

He also states that the first Gallup poll to show a pro-life majority was conducted back in May 2009.

Douthat goes on to say that “…if you followed the media frenzy...” surrounding the Komen foundation’s move, “...you would think all these millions of anti-abortion Americans simply do not exist.”

Douthat points out that media bias charges levelled by conservatives are often exaggerated, but in the case of the abortion issue, “…the press’s prejudices are often absolute, its biases blatant and its blinders impenetrable.”

“Millions of Americans — including, yes, millions of American women — do oppose Planned Parenthood. They oppose the 300,000-plus abortions it performs every year, and they oppose its tireless opposition to even modest limits on abortion.”

Douthat observes that “…journalists betray their calling when they simply ignore self-evident truths about a story.”

So, dear readers, the next time you hear about the right-wing American conservatives who are standing in the way of women’s rights to abortion, try to remember that these conservatives represent 58% of recent American public opinion. They include both men and women, but it seems that they do not include the media, which is in the minority on the issue but is bent on bringing public opinion around to its point of view.

Perhaps American media attention would be better spent on more obvious controversies, such as Obamacare or emerging American middle class poverty.

But, we all know that it’s not easy to take away a bone once it’s firmly planted in a dog’s mouth - so just try to remember that what you hear on mainstream America TV is not what the majority of Americans feel about the abortion issue.