Just 3 percent oppose abortion funding in health reform bill
Posted on 20 November 2009 | by Wendy Norris | 
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Source: Pew Research Center.
The news domination about the Stupak-Pitts amendment to the U.S. House’s health reform bill that prohibits federal funding of abortion services in both public and private insurance plans belies the more important reasons some members of the public oppose the plan.
According to a Nov. 19 study by the Pew Research Center:
When asked to choose the single most important issue from a list of possible reasons, 8% of opponents selected abortion funding. This translates into just 3% of all Americans who both oppose the legislation and say abortion funding is the main reason for their position. Among opponents, concern about too much government involvement topped the list, with 38% saying it was the most important reason, followed by 27% who cited the expense of reform. Fewer cited the risk to their own health care (14%) or the possibility that illegal immigrants might be covered (7%). [Emphasis mine]
The Pew findings raise a critical issue: With so few Americans opposed to health care reform because of the potential for abortion funding, why did the political aim of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and conservative religious groups have such a disproportional impact on the final House bill?
