This afternoon, the Knights of Columbus released the results of their annual survey on abortion. This poll, which they commissioned through the Marist Poll, surveyed 1,371 adults between January 8 and 9 of this year. The Knights of Columbus have been commissioning polls on abortion and releasing the results around the March for Life for about ten years. These polls nicely inform debates over sanctity-of-life issues. That is because, unlike many other abortion surveys, they ask questions about a wide range of issues, conscience rights, including taxpayer funding of abortion, and pro-life pregnancy help centers.
This year’s poll contains some good news for pro-lifers. First, it finds that 40 percent of Americans identify as “pro-life.” This marks a gain of one percentage point since last year’s Knights of Columbus poll. This is an important finding. Countless pundits and mainstream media outlets have worked overtime to argue that pro-life position has lost ground in the court of public opinion since the Dobbs decision. However, both the Knights of Columbus poll and Gallup polls have shown slight gains in the percentage of people who identify as “pro-life.”
The poll also finds strong opposition to both abortion on demand and taxpayer funding for abortion. Specifically, it found the only 29 percent of Americans thought that abortion should be legal at any time during pregnancy. The Knights of Columbus poll also found that a majority of American oppose taxpayer funding for abortion and that an impressive 67 percent oppose having taxpayer dollars fund overseas abortions. Conscience rights continue to enjoy strong support. The results indicate that 66 percent of Americans felt that health-care professionals with religious objections to abortion should not be legally required to perform abortions.
The Knights of Columbus/Marist poll is one of the few surveys that asks about policies pertaining to chemical abortions. They found that 61 percent of Americans believe that an in-person medical exam should be required before a woman obtains a chemical abortion. This is a salient issue for several reasons. The Biden-administration FDA continued the Covid-19-era policy of allowing women to obtain chemical abortion drugs without an in-person medical exam. The FDA changed this policy only after successful litigation filed by Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf or a range of pro-life groups.
Another key finding from the Knights of Columbus/Marist poll is that the public strongly supports the work of pro-life pregnancy help centers. Sadly, many pro-abortion elected officials continue to try to enact laws to undermine their lifesaving efforts. Furthermore, since the leak of the Dobbs decision, there have been at least 88 attacks on pro-life pregnancy help centers, according to CatholicVote.org. This poll nicely shows how out of touch pro-abortion politicians and abortion activists are with the American public. According to the survey, an impressive 83 percent of Americans support pro-life pregnancy help centers.
As thousands pro-lifers gather in Washington, D.C., on Friday for the annual March for Life, we should take heart. This Knights of Columbus/Marist poll adds to a substantial body of evidence that shows that Americans reject the abortion-on-demand regime that was effectively ushered in by Roe v. Wade 51 years ago. Furthermore, it provides powerful evidence that strong majorities of Americans support incremental pro-life laws, conscience rights, and the good work of pro-life pregnancy help centers. As always, pro-lifers would do well to stay the course.