Happy Fortieth, Roe

One of the most passionately challenged Supreme Court decisions is celebrating its fortieth anniversary. Roe vs. Wade, a decision made on January 22, 1973, rocked many deeply conservative Christian communities and took abortion out of the hands of unscrupulous dilettantes and put that socially difficult practice into the hands of the medical profession.

Conservatives have been battling the concept ever since, trying repeal, withholding funding, changing definitions of viability and conditions under which it can be addressed. There was a time when it was such a powerful single issue that legislators and Congress people could be elected by pledging only to fight to eliminate that right as much as possible. “Murders to stop murders” – fundamentalists willing to execute doctors involved in abortion clinics and firebomb the facilities themselves – ignited every now and again. Four decades later… how do Americans feel about the subject?

The Pew Research Center was curious and conducted a controlled national poll of 1502 Americans over 18 (the sampling error was presented as plus or minus 2.9%). The results (released on January 16^th) are not particularly earth-shattering, but interesting nonetheless. 63% of those polled didn’t think the decision should be completely overturned; 29% did. Folks have pretty much stabilized in their opinions, and the numbers are consistent with earlier Pew-polls from 1992 and 2003, a consistency over time that is rare in such measurements. 47% of Americans find abortion morally wrong, but many of those still favor leaving Roe vs. Wade intact. But it is interesting how different segments of the population responded.

Unsurprisingly, conservative religious groupings oppose the decision the most. But only white evangelical Protestants produced a clear majority – 54% – that believed Roe needed to be entirely eliminated from American law. When other religious constituencies are measured, however, the numbers favor upholding that Supreme Court edict: white mainline Protestants (76%), black Protestants (65%) and white Catholics (63%). Catholics?

But the decision is four decades old, and too many Americans don’t even know the case. Among Millennials (those under 30), 44% didn’t even know what Roe vs. Wade was! 62% of Americans, 74% of those over 50, recognized the precedent. Age and gender didn’t matter much in determining support of this legal decision. 69 percent “Baby boomers” and 68% of Millennials favored upholding the case.

Pro Life vs. Pro Choice. They are both “pro” something. But the fact remains that abortion is high on the radar only for a small number of voters, and that the passionate rhetoric on both sides of the issue do not mirror the simple acceptance of the 1973 decision by most Americans. For those with passion about the subject, politicians who don’t toe the line in accordance with such strong beliefs face committed opposition to their election. The case is still a great polarizer, even as it may fall from the highest levels of visibility it once controlled.

I’m Peter Dekom, and important society-changing decisions generally become part of a national ethos... sooner or later.