Friday, July 6, 2012

Poll: Canadians Want More Restrictions on Abortion


by Steven Ertelt 
 Ottawa, Canada 
 LifeNews.com 
 7/5/12 11:44 AM


New polling data shows Canadians may support the current situation where abortion is essentially legal in Canada, but they want limits in place on abortions that the current state does not allow.

A new nationwide survey commissioned by Postmedia News and Global TV and conducted by Ipsos Reid reveals 49 percent of Canadians think abortion should be permitted for any reason and 5 percent say it should be permitted under certain circumstances, while 6 percent say abortion should not be allowed for any reason. With the second section — abortion permitted under certain circumstances — not defined, many of those Canadians likely take a pro-life view opposing abortion except in very rare cases such as rape, incest or when the pregnancy directly threatens the life of the mother.

The poll further showed that 60 percent of Canadians want more limits on abortion, such as banning abortions in the last trimester. Some 57 percent of men and 62 percent of women agreed.

According to the National Post, which reported on the poll:


Ipsos Reid reports that support for a woman’s right to an abortion has increased over the years; the pollster points to a 1988 poll that showed 36% support for unrestricted abortion rights and 39% support for abortion with restrictions.

According to the new poll, support for a woman’s right to choose in any circumstances is highest among affluent Canadians and those with a university degree. In the regions, support for unrestricted access is highest in Quebec (60%), followed by British Columbia (52%).

“What this says to me is that Canadians are generally supportive of a woman’s choice but they don’t want the choice to be taken frivolously,” said Mr. Bricker.

“For the most part what they would like to see is a woman being able to make that decision. The current Canadian legal situation is what they prefer. Do they actually like women pursuing abortions? The answer is no. They don’t.”




The figures come from two Ipsos Reid polls conducted from its online panel between June 11-18 and June 20-25. The first poll was of 1,101 Canadians and had a margin of error of 3.0 percentage points 19 times out of 20 for national results. The second poll of 1,009 Canadians has a national margin of error of 3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20. The margin of error for provincial results is higher.

The survey comes after the Canadian March for Life shattered records earlier this year — seeing more than 20,000 people pack the capital of Ottawa to speak out against abortion.

Sponsored by the Campaign Life Coalition, thousands of people gathered in Ottawa on Parliament Hill for the 15th National March for Life to demand legal protection for all human beings from the time of conception to the moment of natural death. The event marks the infamous passing of Trudeau’s Omnibus Bill in 1969 that struck down abortion laws and stripped away protection for Canada’s preborn children.

“In the past forty years, four million preborn children have been killed by abortion, and recently studies show that these include sex-selective abortions,” said Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition. “Unlike the pro-abortion movement which prides itself on supporting the rights of females but ignores the plight of preborn females, participants at the March will be standing up for the right to life for all human beings.”

In May 1969, the nation’s Parliament passed Trudeau’s Omnibus Bill that struck down abortion laws and stripped away protection from Canada’s unborn children. Then, in January 1988, the nation’s abortion law was struck down from the Criminal Code by the Supreme Court of Canada resulting in full legal abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy.

As a result, there have been more than 4 million abortions in Canada, resulting in the death of babies before birth and injuring countless women.

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