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Americans and Abortion
A Pew Forum research package provides an overview of the abortion debate, examines public opinion and religious groups' views on the issue and explores the legal and international angles.
 

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ANALYSIS November 19, 2009
Abortion Plays Small Role in Health Reform Opposition
While most Americans oppose government funding of abortion, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that concern about abortion funding plays only a small role in driving opposition to the health care reform legislation under consideration by Congress.
ANALYSIS September 30, 2008
Abortion Laws Around the World
Abortion is as controversial abroad as it is in the United States. Many governments struggle to strike a balance between the rights of pregnant women and the rights of unborn fetuses.
ANALYSIS September 29, 2008
Americans and Abortion: An Overview
More than 35 years after the U.S. Supreme Court's historic Roe v. Wade (1973) decision granted a woman the constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy, abortion remains a controversial issue.  
ANALYSIS September 16, 2008
A Slight but Steady Majority Favors Keeping Abortion Legal
Public opinion on the legality of abortion has remained relatively stable for well over a decade, with slight majorities of the public consistently saying they favor keeping abortion legal.
ANALYSIS August 28, 2008
On Ceremonial Occasions, May the Government Invoke a Deity?
Opponents of these religious invocations say such proclamations promote religion and thus violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which prohibits all laws "respecting an establishment of religion."
ANALYSIS August 21, 2008
More Americans Question Religion's Role in Politics
A new survey finds a narrow majority of the public saying that churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters and not express their views on day-to-day social and political matters.
ANALYSIS January 17, 2008
From Roe to Stenberg: A History of Key Abortion Rulings by the Supreme Court
Reproductive issues were largely a private affair early in American history. Although abortion was deemed illegal under English common law, the state rarely took any interest in prosecuting those cases that became public.
ANALYSIS October 15, 2007
A Portrait of Republican Social-Issue Voters
With no clear heir apparent to President Bush, and a nominating contest that remains very much in flux, many 2008 Republican presidential candidates are vying for the support of an influential segment of the primary electorate - social-issue voters.
ANALYSIS June 6, 2007
The High Court Upholds the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act
On April 18, 2007, the Supreme Court handed abortion opponents a major victory, ruling that the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act does not violate the constitutional right to abortion.
ANALYSIS April 19, 2007
High Court Decision Could Raise Abortion's Profile in Campaign
Wednesday's 5-4 Supreme Court decision upholding a federal law banning a controversial abortion procedure may dramatically raise abortion's visibility in the presidential election campaign.
ANALYSIS April 11, 2007
The Culture War and the Coming Election
At the moment no hot-button issue looms but events could change that quickly April 11, 2007 by David Masci, Senior Research Fellow, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life The 2008 presidential election is still more than a year-and-a-half away, b...
ANALYSIS November 8, 2006
Split State Decisions on "Culture War" Issues
by Robert Ruby, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life November 8, 2006 Voters in South Dakota on Tuesday rejected what would have been the nation's most restrictive law against abortion, and Arizona became the first state to defeat a ballot init...
ANALYSIS November 1, 2006
Is There a Culture War? A Dialogue on Values and American Public Life
James Davison Hunter and Alan Wolfe Pew Forum Dialogues on Religion & Public Life E.J. Dionne Jr. and Michael Cromartie, Series Editors Executive Summary (.pdf) Order the book In the wake of a bitter 2004 presidential campaign and in the face ...
ANALYSIS November 1, 2006
The Supreme Court Revisits the Partial Birth Abortion Issue
Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood Download the full backgrounder (12-page pdf) Abortion resource page Introduction On Nov. 8, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in two cases that challenge the constitutionality o...
ANALYSIS February 9, 2006
Supreme Court's Decision in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England
Unanimous Court Sends Abortion Decision Back to Lower Court Download the Decision Analysis Download the Legal Backgrounder On January 18, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a lower federal court had erred in striking down in its entirety a Ne...