Conflicting Values and Compromise Beliefs About Abortion.

Abstract

National survey data are used to examine the conflicting values that underly the mixed stance that the majority of Americans take toward legal abortion. The data come from several different sources and are employed here for different purposes: National Opinion Research Center (NORC) trend data from 1965-1985 are used to study cohort and other changes over time; past SRC and Gallup split-ballot experiments are analyzed to interpret order effects involved in abortion questioning; and new open-ended survey questions are drawn on to help in distinguishing moral objections from legal opposition. Specific hypotheses about attitudes towards abortion are tested, and other more general research questions explored. First, although past research has found that those opposed to legal abortion feel more strongly than those in favor, I hypothesize that if those with a mixed stance are excluded, abortion proponents and opponents should show approximately equal strength of feeling. This hypothesis is tested in several different ways and decisively disconfirmed. Second, other researchers have attempted to estimate the "true leaning" of those who appear ambivalent about legalized abortion. I show that if forced to choose, people tend to support legal abortion despite their personal moral reservations. Third, the ambivalence of the mixed stance can be said to be shown by the frequently demonstrated order effect on certain questions about abortion. I draw on a series of experiments to argue that existing explanations are not consistent with the evidence, and I offer an alternative explanation. Fourth, responses to open questions are used to show that in addition to a concern for women's rights and the life of the child, a strong pragmatic emphasis appears in abortion attitudes--one that focuses on the circumstances of the pregnancy and the quality of life for the future child. I also hypothesize that once women regard legal abortion as a pragmatic necessity, they will retain their liberal stance on legal abortion as they grow older; this hypothesis is confirmed. Finally as part of these various analyses, a number of other important factors are considered, with particular attention given to the role of religious affiliation and church attendance.