In May, a Gallup Poll found that 51% of Americans identified as “Pro-Life.” A new poll shows that this number is closer to 47%, and that the percentage of Americans that identify as “Pro-Choice” stands at 46%. So what has changed? Well, I am a big skeptic when it comes to polling thanks to numerous classes in statistics and research methods because there are so many variables that can contribute to these types of discrepancies. For the sake of this blog post, we will pretend that response bias is not at work, and we will pretend that this dichotomous question with its loaded rhetoric has no effect on the person who is surveyed. Just pretend, okay?On May 31, 2009, an anti-choice extremist murdered Dr. George Tiller—this could definitely contribute to less people wanting to self-identify as “Pro-Life.” In my opinion, this upswing in violence and animosity on the part of anti-choice individuals has left those feeling mostly apathetic about the question of reproductive rights leaning toward a “Pro-Choice” self-identification. These are just my thoughts. What do you think?
Feel free to contact campusteam@feminist.org with any questions or comments.
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2 comments:
I agree with you. I also think that recent events have forced people who were uncertain or haven't thought about the issue much to decide on a stance.
Look at you and your critical thinking statistical analysis!
While I agree with you that Dr. Tiller's murder probably affected how people self-identify, I am still very interested in what questions were asked/how they were worded.
Any info on the poll itself?
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