"Our Stolen Generation"

“Our Stolen Generation”

Or

“Liberty Sans Morality”

By: J. Thomas Hunter

Karlyn Bowman and Andrew Rugg from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) compiled a comprehensive study of American attitudes about abortion that is comprised of various public opinion polls on the subject. The study, divided into ten sections based on the questions asked, found that American opinions on the subject are stable however contradictory. “Most Americans do not want to overturn Roe v. Wade. At the same time, however, they are willing to put significant restrictions on abortion.” Bowman and Rugg also found that in 2000, 90% of Americans claimed that they had never been active in the abortion debate. I would like that to change.

“Our Stolen Generation” is a series aimed at eliminating (at best) or confronting (at least) the contradictions in American views on abortion. This series has been divided into two parts. The first part, aimed at dispelling the myths that say that fetuses are not human and that abortions are simple procedures not unlike having a tooth pulled, juxtaposed fetal developments with abortion procedures. The second part will examine each section of the AEI study and critique the steady opinions Americans have held for more than 37 years.

This week I will analyze how the language of liberty affects American views on abortion.

The Data

Surveys from NBC News, the Wall Street Journal, Roper Starch Worldwide, the New York Times and CBS all found that when abortion is discussed in terms of rights, choice and legality, Americans roundly reject limitations. The concept of choice has always been very important to Americans—it is the very gauge of a nation’s freedom—and thus, perceiving abortion as a positive measure of freedom may conflate the practice with a benign or benevolent institution. AEI highlights these polls as they refer to abortion in terms of a woman’s choice and in terms of another citizen’s willingness to abridge her liberty.

Abortion in Terms of Choice

Between 1990 and 2009 NBC News and the Wall Street journal polled Americans asking if the choice to have an abortion should be left to a woman in all cases; in cases of rape, incest or when her life is in jeopardy; or if abortion should be legal under any circumstance at all. Respondents overwhelmingly supported a woman’s choice by margins as high as 60% in favor under all circumstances to 37% in limited and under no circumstances in 1997. The smallest differential was in 2009 when 51% of respondents supported a woman’s choice to have an abortion in all circumstances versus 48% of respondents who supported partial or complete restrictions.

In another poll that emphasized choice, and to a lesser extent legality, CBS News/New York Times asked whether a woman should be allowed to have an abortion under the condition that she chooses to and her doctor accedes. The poll ran between 1980 and 1998. In 1981, the highest number of respondents favored such an allowance 65% to 22%. The lowest number of supporters registered their position in 1989 and 1992, 58%.

Clearly, when abortion is presented in terms of choice, Americans do not wish to see limitations imposed.

 

Abortion in Terms of Rights

While the aforementioned polls straddle the question of legality and choice in abortion, the following two polls regard legality and a woman’s right to an abortion.

First, a Roper Starch Worldwide poll asked for twenty years, between 1978 and 1998, whether respondents were in favor of, opposed to, or ambivalent about whether or not women should be legally allowed to abort their children. Never did opposition come close to 50%. The highest percentage of opposition was 42%, while supporters of legal abortion ranged from 46% on the lowest end to 49% on the highest end.

Second, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that ran only from 1993 to 1994 asked respondents the level to which they agreed that the government should not interfere with a woman’s ability to have an abortion. In 1994, 53% of respondents agreed strongly and 17% agreed somewhat, while only 27% somewhat or strongly disagreed. Most interesting, though, were the responses in 1993 when the question asked not about the government’s interfering with a woman’s ability to have an abortion, but rather about the government’s interfering with a woman’s right to have an abortion. The responses to the latter formulation of the question more strongly reflected agreement, with 63% against government’s abridging of a woman’s right to an abortion and 21% somewhat or strongly in favor of governmental interference.

The Analysis

Two important lessons may be gleaned from this section of the exhaustive AEI study. First, these highlighted polls support Bowman and Rugg’s conclusion that American views on abortion are curiously inconsistent. Considered alongside studies that show that Americans overwhelmingly recognize abortion as ending human life, this section of the data seems to suggest that Americans are comfortable—even in favor of—terminating a life as innocent as a baby’s for reasons no more grave than a mother’s whimsical choice. Secondly, and perhaps most interestingly, this section of the study demonstrates the power of couching American ideals in the language of individual choice. Liberals sometimes explain the popularity of conservatism as the result of conservatives manipulating language such that their policies are viewed in terms of compelling buzzwords about which Americans feel emotionally positive. Some of the most scathing critiques of “individualism”—a term that predated libertarianism—as immoral in its amorality, are substantiated by these polls. Libertarians claim that Americans care more about individual liberty than they do about morality, and they point to studies like these compiled polls to make their case. Whether or not the libertarian claim is wholly true, Americans should be struck by, aware of and even disgusted by the notion that they replace moral authority with civil authority—this is the basis of the current political debates about state power.

Our rights’ source matters a great deal to philosophy and policy. If our rights come from man, as these polls suggest, then Roe v. Wade has legitimized our “right to do wrong.” (Many other polls, even some cited in this study admit that Americans view abortion as morally wrong.) If, however, our rights are bestowed to us from a Creator whose moral law is transcendent and immutable, then abortion cannot be morally supported nor discussed positively in terms of rights and liberty.

Liberty sans morality is a recipe for butchery.

Article Sources: http://www.aei.org/docLib/Public%20Opinion%20Study%20-%20Abortion%202010.pdf

Photo Sources: "Help Me" from http://s2.hubimg.com/u/1864289_f520.jpg; "Pro choice activist" from http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qsjlYtt8u4E/SYFTwjLLv2I/AAAAAAAADwQ/-2CGMAgbPYA/s400/Pro-Choice.JPG;