[Fwd: Re: [Fwd: Re: Abortion in Europe and US]]

[Katha Pollitt <kpollitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Here is another set of figures on abortion I derived from the World Values
> Survey for 1990 and 1995.
> Support for abortion was measured on a scale from 1=never acceptable to
> 10=always acceptable.  I computed mean scores for each country - so th
> ehigher the number the more acceptable abortion in that country.
> Unfortunately, many countries included in 1991 survey were not included in
> the 1995 survey.
>
> higher numbers = greater overall acceptability of abortion
>               1990     1995
> Britain        4.35     5.28
> W. Germany     4.35     5.37
> Norway         5.00     5.56
> Sweden         5.37     7.26
> Japan          3.71     4.35
> USA            4.00     3.90
>
> These figures seem to show that while support for abortion increased in the
> European countries shown above and japan - it *decreased* slightly in the
> US.

 that's very interesting -- but it's worth noting that  how "acceptable"
people find abortion doesn't tell us what they want to do about
abortion.   I find it "unacceptable" when a middle-aged man leaves his
wife for a twenty-year-old.  but I wouldn't make it a crime! the lowest
acceptability rate for abortion was japan in l990 -- but Japan has an
astronomical abortion rate (because birth control pill was outlawed
until this summer), and no anti-choice movement to speak of.
  If you phrase the question as agree/disagree "a woman and her doctor
should be able to decide about abortion without govt interference"
USsupport goes way up.(will try to find poll, but have no idea how to do
this kind of research on Web -- help!). And this is, in fact, the
question on the table: who decides? The Gallup poll, which seems to
measure willingness to recriminalize abortion, is the scary one.
  However -- I don't mean to minimize the threat.  Basically I agree
with Andy, that the anti-choicers now have a piecemeal strategy of
chipping away at abortion however they can. But this is what PP, NARAL
and NOW are endlessly pointing out!

Katha

Katha

Katha