Worldwide Public Opts for Choice
People around the globe, as it turns out, believe that the decision to have an abortion should be left to the individual.
The collaborative research group WorldPublicOpinion.org published a poll last week showing that of 18 countries polled around the world — from the U.S. to China to Mexico and Turkey — the majority of people believe that the government should not “be involved in trying to discourage abortions.” In 17 out of 18 of those countries, majorities overwhelmingly reject using criminal penalties to prevent abortions.
In seven of the countries surveyed, the law of the land is out of sync with public sentiment. “Clearly many governments around the world using criminal penalties to try to prevent abortions are out of step with their publics,” WorldPublicOpinion.org Director Steven Kull said in the press release.
Here in the United States, 69% of respondents believe the government should not try to discourage abortions, while 27% think it is okay for the government to “use such methods as education, counseling, and adoption services” to discourage abortions, and only 8% believe that the government should use criminal penalties, like fines and imprisonment. 8%. That’s a rather piddling minority. Does anyone else want to e-mail copies of this report to lawmakers in
The citizens of the world realize that abortion is a decision made of necessity, often the result of complex medical or other personal considerations. And it should remain an individual choice.
Now if only the governments or the world would listen.
By Tara Sweeney